I really liked Gareth and Sloan. This is the second book in their duet, and I just really like how things unfolded between them. Gareth is one of my favorite book boyfriends. Yum.
DNF @ 24%
I like this author and have loved this series, so I just downloaded the next without reading the blurb. And... what the actual fuck, you guys?! How are people not raging about this?
The FMC is a selfish, vapid bitch. She makes a sex tape with the MMC
without his fucking consent.
Firstly, her plan is literally batshit stupid: send a SEX TAPE FEATURING YOURSELF to the fucking two people who betrayed you as payback? What? Does your pea-sized brain not imagine for even a goddamn minute that they would do something horrible with it??
Secondly, doing that without his consent is fucking monstrous. It is a violation. It is potentially career-ending and life-ruining for him. But she doesn't give a single goddamn fuck, because she's a horrible fucking human being who should be put in jail.
People, if the sexes were reversed - if HE recorded a nonconsensual sex tape with HER - people would be screaming down the roof, and rightfully so. What's with the fucking double standard?
This is not hot, it's not cute. I can see how it's going to blow up in their faces and the protective Harris family will make me angry by blaming the victim here and not their complete asshole family member, and I am just not here for it.
No. Just no.
Well. This one was MUCH better, more like the earlier books in the series. People finally got over their stupid "let's keep Kitty in the dark" bullcrap (may that be a dead story thread that is never resurrected, please), and for the most part, it felt like the team found a better balance for working together.
There were still a couple points where I wanted to punch Reader - what is with his constant need to blame Kitty for everything - but I was happy to see them get back to old form after a serious chat.
But I still think he's a dick for acting like she caused a big mess when she said Eugene committed an unfriendly act. I mean, Reader had just arrested him and said - directly and in front of a crowd - that he wouldn't get access to a lawyer because that's not how they do things in American Centaurion. How is that not the BIGGEST deal? The head of military and husband of the Supreme Pontifex just acted like a petty 3rd world military dictator. Then Kevin said the same - about it being an unfriendly act on their soil - and Kitty repeated him, backing them both up. So WTF with Reader freaking out at HER for the declaration? I literally wanted to punch him in the throat.
So yeah, he's not really in my good graces yet. And I still have a problem with the implication that he's in charge of DipCorps at all. Because, again, that's not how the early books laid out their structure, and it is also the government of a military dictatorship, which, no thanks. He's head of military. That does NOT mean he's boss of every person. And if that now does, then they have bigger problems than the US Government, because they've had a military coup.
But I enjoyed this one. So I'm tentatively optimistic that we've transitioned into a better place with the series, and I'll like them more going forward.
I love Charles and Anna, and the entire Mercy Thompson world. And this book was no exception.
I wish it had featured more of the usual secondary characters, though - Bran (I need my Bran fix!), Samuel, Asil. And I wish it had done more in terms of overall plot, between the books. If I had any criticism of the Alpha and Omega series, I'd say the primary one is that it feels like each of these books are a one-off. It's such a rich, layered world. These books make tiny nods to greater threads, but don't really move those balls forward.
Regardless, it's a world I love visiting. And what's not to love about Charles and Anna?
Re-read April 2017
I just honestly love this series, and this world. And on re-read, I'd bump this up to 4.5 stars. I still do feel like each of these books feels like a one-off ... there's big gaps between the books, and so the relationship between the characters seems to change dramatically from book to book ... but the story just really shines in this book. I cried about Maggie and Joseph, and was so happy to meet the whole Sani family (and hope we see more of them ... let's please continue on a little with some of these amazing characters!). It was great to see FBI agent Leslie again, and it was also great to see two Cantrip agents who weren't useless pieces of bullying garbage.
My heart breaks for Charles. Who wants to live forever? Not me. Not if most of the people I care about won't.
One tiny quibble: this book felt a little out of character to me, with Bran. A couple times it was mentioned how little he cares about humans... but I have just never gotten that vibe from him before. He's always struck me as a protector. He keeps himself away from humans, mostly, because like most of the old ones, the aging and death is hard to take. But all the humans in his life, he doesn't hold at arms length (like how much he cared for the vet that was the source of so much trouble in the first books of both the Mercy and A & O series). Bran holds himself a little apart from most people - it reminds me of Beauclaire, from
Fair Game, saying that it was a mistake to give someone as old and powerful as him a person to love. It makes him dangerous. I think Bran feels very very much the same (case in point: his mate). He tries to remain detached from most people... but he cares. He and Charles are very much alike in that. They try and keep, like, a moat of piranhas between them and the world... but whenever someone decent enters their sphere, they care. They are protectors. The Bran that has been established throughout the Mercy-verse would never have stood back and said "So what that there's a fae killing children, they are only human, fuck them."
I wasn't in love with the love triangle that came up in this one, but I hope that's just a blip - it seems to have resolved, and Sean and Alice seem to be in a solid place.
Otherwise, I really enjoyed it. Man, Alice is a badass when she really uses her power.
Kindle freebie
***4***
A fun start to a new series. A little drawn out, but I enjoyed it, and will be checking out the next in the series.
***2.5***
Well, this one honestly nearly killed the series for me. The two biggest recurring plot threads - Kitty being sidelined, Jeff being a douche - moved into the main plot arc for this book. That coupled with Reader's character being, quite frankly, ruined meant I came pretty close to DNF in the first half.
I hate this transition, with Kitty, Jeff and Christopher being powerless in the Diplomatic Corps and Reader (in particular), Serene and Tim being these egomaniacal douches that order everyone to obey them. Aside from not liking what this does with the characters, I just don't feel like it makes any logical sense. Firstly, because we had been told previously that Diplomatic Corps is a separate branch of the A-C government, serving as a check and balance against the military wing (Centaurion Division). So Reader SHOULD NOT have authority over them, in the same way that Jeff and Christopher did not have authority over the DipCorps when they were Team Evil. The fact that he seems to have that authority now is not only inconsistent, it is concerning. Because... that means the military runs A-C on Earth? They are a military dictatorship - because that's what it is called when your guy in charge is the head of your military division. So, really? Because that's fucked. And it undermines so much of their overall arc. Why are they concerned about being War Division? I mean, who cares, if they are a people already under military rule, right?
Secondly, this makes no sense because it kneecaps the power players. Like, hey, you used to be able to go out and handle stuff, but now you can't without getting a hall pass. And getting snarked at.
In this book, particularly, it just felt like there was boatloads of TSTL stuff happening. Like, hey guys, it is clear the bad guys have manipulated events to keep Kitty out of the loop. Oh well, guess we just do what the bad guys want. Also, who is the one who randomly decided - RIGHT NOW - that Kitty's high security clearance was revoked pending this test? Because she's been working with high security intel for LITERALLY 3 years at this point, and 6-8 months of that was here in DipCorps, so NO, it's not just a thing that had to happen when she transitioned to DipCorps. Frankly, if I wanted to look for the Head Bad Guy, I'd be looking for the guy who revoked her security clearance and set this whole chain of events in motion. But no one - literally no one - even thinks about that at any point in this book.
It wasn't much saved by the coming together of stuff at the end of this book, either, because it felt ... I don't know, jumbled. Like pieces never fit really well, and there was lots of random stuff, and ... at the end of the day,
given that it was a big giant alien invasion
I don't really feel like Kitty - or anyone on the team, really - contributed much to the foiling of the plan.
Really, Alpha Four had been monitoring the situation, and when they were needed, Alpha Four came in and handled the situation. Even having figured out the plan and wrangled her people, Kitty and the team didn't have much impact. At best, they stalled things a little, until the cavalry showed up.
It was very odd to feel like ... honestly, Kitty and team were largely incidental to what was going on. It felt like a heck of a lot of wheel-spinning, and then... *shrug*
I've already bought the next 3 books, so I'm reading on, but not hopeful. This one was pretty dismal. I'd give it 1 star for the first half, 3 stars for the last half as pieces started coming together, but only 2 stars for the resolution.
I am a pretty avid fan of fairy tales - I collect them - and so I wasn't able to resist reading Macguire's books. Wicked is the story of the Wicked Witch of the West, and it turns the Wizard of Oz tale on its head.
Love, love, love, love, loved it.
So much happened, with lots of little threads brought in, that I want another read to properly digest all the details. And I'm totally not ready to be done with this world, so I'm starting a re-read of the series from book 1. I'll write a better review after that, with the second read under my belt and properly digested.
Immediate re-read of full series (Jan 2024)
I really do adore this series.
This book is fabulous because some major questions got forward movement. We still don't have all the pieces, but we have enough to get a pretty clear picture. Rothchild ... is just utterly heartbreaking. The 43 annoy the living shit out of me. There are things I like about some of them - even Pallas - but their insistence on keeping Kira/Jin on the outside while also somehow believing they can boss Kira around is maddening. I want her to go primus on them and just beat some ass, honestly. Additionally, they feel fucking delusional:
Pallas's whole thing about Kira and Jin abandoning THEM makes me want to throat-punch him. The 43 knew that Kira and Jin were alive. Knew where they were, how to reach them. And just didn't fucking bother. Meanwhile, they're going to be whiny babies that Kira and Jin never looked for them. Go fuck yourselves, seriously. These were the two youngest children, whom the 43 abandoned the night of the escape ... the youngest who nearly died, Jin losing his body completely in the aftermath, stuck as a drone. They were reeling, but they did see the whole camp explode (Pallas said they did that to mask their escape), and were told by Himoto's team that there were bodies. Kira and Jin thought the 43 died attempting to escape. They had no reason to think otherwise. So no, jackasses, they didn't go looking for you. But you asswipes, who abandoned them, knew from the first moment that they didn't die and you
never fucking reached out to them ... probably because you were so emo about abandoning them in your escape. But you don't get to act all hurt that they didn't look for you when you abandoned them not once, but twice.
Also, I have to say that re: Rothchild ... I'm sure it is more complicated than Kira is currently thinking, and we're going to get the rest of the story there. I'm worried that Himoto was involved. Pallas seems to have been working with him, and not just him ... Himoto's files have notes about the 43, which could only have come from them, since Kira never spoke to him about them. Himoto is a damn complicated character, and not really a good guy. I'm worried that more terrible things are going to come out about him. Finding out he knew about the camps was horrible enough as it is. I get that he changed, that raising Kira changed him, but he has clearly done terrible things in the name of the greater good, and I'm worried the full list of those terrible things has yet to be revealed. What we know already is bad enough:
- Knew about the camp Kira and the others were in, even if he didn't know everything involved.
- Told the Curs that Kira abandoned them in the war, isolating her terribly when she was barely surviving.
- Was working in some sneaky way with the 43
- Manipulated Kira repeatedly to keep using her, both during the war until the use finally put her in a coma, and after the war to try and get in with the Tuann
I respect Himoto on some level, as a leader, an Admiral, a war commander ... but as a person, I feel a bubbling dislike.
It is interesting to me that the Tsavitee have managed to convince people to turn traitor in every faction. There are Tuann traitors, human traitors, likely Haldeel traitors (that attack in book 3 was too much of an inside job), and now even in the 43. How? What are they selling that has so many different people buying?
I feel like the ramifications of this book will hit the next book like a wrecking ball.
Jace is in a tricky place, almost peeling away as a separate faction of humanity (given how corrupt people in charge are, I think that's a good choice... but still tricky). Tuann have people staging an assassination attempt on a major house (Asanth), and a second major house (Danai) seems to be responsible for the events in book 4 (the adva ka attack), given how quickly they peaced out after the trial (commented on early in this book). The 43 have a traitor, which means they probably have more than one ... and they were already breaking into factions. I think their group will likely fall apart entirely, given that their defining characteristics are PTSD and fear. Now that they can't trust each other, I can't see how they don't completely fragment. And last but surely not least: Jin. While I can't imagine the joy the Emperor feels, it also puts him in a very complicated situation. Where did this body come from? Did the Osiri tamper with it in some way we don't know about yet? Can Torvald just fully embrace his eldest son's return and install him in the Palace? I'm skeptical.
I am terrified for Jin, honestly, and curious about how this will play out. He's been a drone for more than 30 years. Does he even remember how to be a person? How does the soul of a battle-hardened survivor cope with being stuffed in the bottle of a fragile child? He has gained a more recognizable life, but he seems to be losing most of his identity - the Tin Man of the Curs, hacker extraordinaire, Kira's co-pilot, partner, navigator. Like, can he even go into battle with her? He's in a soft child body! How could he? I'm so worried for him!
And lastly, Elise. Man. Talk about complicated. She seems to be a sociopath, mostly. A broken mess of tortured, brainwashed pieces that has clung to the good memories of Kira and Raider to survive, but willing to compromise anything, do anything, if she feels it is needed. She has no lines. No boundaries. How can Kira reconcile that? Is there a way to move forward?
Before I go, just one quibble: I hope the chapters with Elena were a one-off because of the specific circumstances in this book, because I wasn't a fan. I don't read YA, don't want to read YA, and the TSTL shit with Elena - expected of a pre-teen like her, to be fair - bugged the crap out of me. I hope Wren stashes her somewhere safe from here on out, and we don't have to have her as a major character going forward.
All in all, I can't wait for the next. And I have to say, if Raider or Jin die, I'm going to riot.