The Qwillery

The Conquering Dark
Authors:  Clay Griffith and Susan Griffith
Series:  Crown & Key 3
Publisher:  Del Rey, July 28, 2015
Format:  Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 338 pages
List Price:  $7.99 (print)
ISBN:  9780345540508 (print)
Review Copy:  Provided by the Publisher

A thrilling new Victorian-era urban fantasy for fans of Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid Chronicles, the Showtime series Penny Dreadful, and the Sherlock Holmes movies featuring Robert Downey, Jr.

The Crown and Key Society face their most terrifying villain yet: Gaios, a deranged demigod with the power to destroy Britain.

To avenge a centuries-old betrayal, Gaios is hell-bent on summoning the elemental forces of the earth to level London and bury Britain. The Crown and Key Society, a secret league consisting of a magician, an alchemist, and a monster-hunter, is the realm’s only hope—and to stop Gaios, they must gather their full strength and come together as a team, or the world will fall apart.

But Simon Archer, the Crown and Key’s leader and the last living magician-scribe, has lost his powers. As Gaios searches for the Stone of Scone, which will give him destructive dominion over the land, monster-hunter Malcolm MacFarlane, alchemist extraordinaire Kate Anstruther, gadget geek Penny Carter, and Charlotte the werewolf scramble to reconnect Simon to his magic before the world as they know it is left forever in ruins.

Melanie's Thoughts

The Conquering Dark is the exciting end to the Crown & Key series. The instalment starts as dramatically as the prior two books with our heroes saving the royal family and a number of aristocrats from certain death from a group of part man/part machine villains. Gaios is determined to get his hands on the Stone of Scone which he believes will give him free reign to destroy Great Britain. What he doesn't realise that between him and certain victory are a magician without any powers, an alchemist, a monster hunter, a maker of gadgets and weapons, a teenage werewolf and a young woman irrevocably changed by an evil doctor. Failure is not an option or everything they know and love will die under the hands of the would be god Gaios.

This instalment is non-stop action from page 1 through to the end. Our motley band of heroes are at a distinct disadvantage when Simon loses his powers towards the end of book number 2 - The Undying Legion. It almost seems impossible that they could prevail when at such a disadvantage. The 'gang' have to play to their individual strengths until such time as Simon can regain his powers, if he ever does. The writing duo continue to fully develop the individual characters while at the same time build the relationships between the characters, and not just the ones with a romance element. Obviously, there is the culmination of the romance between Simon and Kate but we also see Malcolm start to truly care for both the young werewolf Charlotte and there are hints at romance between him and Penny. Simon and Malcolm's relationship changes and Simon faces some hard facts about his long time friend Nick. The Griffiths all but hammered home the importance of friendship through all the books but more-so in this final instalment. This is very much a tale of good versus evil and the power of friendship.

I enjoyed this final instalment but I did find it a tad stereotypical and a bit cliched in parts. The non-stop action, however, made it a more enjoyable read than if it was more conversation based. The romance between Kate and Simon was subtle but quite bland.  Simon was billed in book 1 to be quite the ladies man and rake but he was nothing but a true gentleman to Kate. This made this romance a bit lackluster unfortunately. I much preferred the 'frisson' between Malcolm and Penny and Malcolm's reluctance to like werewolf Charlotte as these interactions seemed more real and true to the individual characters. As a group they had a good dynamic, which along with the overall plot arch made it an enjoyable read overall. I liked this book, I liked the series and LOVED the cover of The Conquering Dark.

The Undying Legion
Authors:  Clay Griffith and Susan Griffith
Series:  Crown & Key 2
Publisher:  Del Rey, June 30, 2015
Format:  Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 336 pages
List Price:  $7.99 (print)
ISBN:  9780345540485 (print)
Review Copy:  Provided by the Publisher

A thrilling new Victorian-era urban fantasy for fans of Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid Chronicles, the Showtime series Penny Dreadful, and the Sherlock Holmes movies featuring Robert Downey, Jr.

With a flood of dark magic about to engulf Victorian London, can a handful of heroes vanquish a legion of the undead?

When monster-hunter Malcolm MacFarlane comes across the gruesome aftermath of a ritual murder in a London church, he enlists the help of magician-scribe Simon Archer and alchemist extraordinaire Kate Anstruther. Studying the macabre scene, they struggle to understand obscure clues in the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics carved into the victim’s heart—as well as bizarre mystical allusions to the romantic poetry of William Blake. One thing is clear: Some very potent black magic is at work.

But this human sacrifice is only the first in a series of ritualized slayings. Desperate to save lives while there is still time, Simon, Kate, and Malcolm—along with gadget geek Penny Carter and Charlotte, an adolescent werewolf—track down a necromancer who is reanimating the deceased. As the team battles an unrelenting army of undead, a powerful Egyptian mummy, and monstrous serpentine demons, the necromancer proves an elusive quarry. And when the true purpose of the ritual is revealed, the gifted allies must confront a destructive force that is positively apocalyptic.

Melanie's Thoughts:

The Undying Legion starts not long after the cataclysmic events of book 1. Simon is still living with Kate, Kate is still trying to cure her sister while Malcolm continues to be Malcolm. Everything changes when a young woman is discovered ritually murdered with hieroglyphics carved into her heart. When another dies the same way and the dead start to come to life again there is only one thing for our heroes to do - save the day of course! Boy do our heroes have their work cut out for them as they try to find the necromancer who is reanimating the dead. An ancient evil is loose in London and it won't be long before its undead legion bring about the end of the world.

I really started to enjoy this series with this second instalment. There were three main things that I thought the authors did to really 'add some flesh to the bones' of this series:

1) They start to more fully round out all of the characters and not just the main three - Kate, Simon and Malcolm. We get much more time with Penny who contributes to the 'day saving' with cool weaponry and other gadgets. I feel that she she has turned into a solid secondary character rather than just an extra. There is one quite touching scene between Simon and Penny which I thought was effective in developing both characters. The young lycan Charlotte gets more page time and becomes Malcolm's sidekick (although reluctantly from Malcolm's perspective). Malcolm and Charlotte become quite a good double act. Through both Charlotte and Kate's sister Imogen we get a clearer picture of Kate's true nature as she tries to stabilise Charlotte and cure her sister.

2) The plot keeps the pace from the first few pages all the way to the end. There is a lot happening in this story and the action starts early on. There are fight scenes galore, gory murder scenes, the secret of Simon's key from book 1 is uncovered and something happens to Simon to totally change things for this character. The ending also leaves us with a delightful teaser for book 3.

3) The authors avoid tying up the plot with a nice bow. The Griffith's aren't afraid to have bad things happen to their characters and avoid resolving their issues by the end of the book. There were some scenes with Kate's sister Imogen that had me wishing for something good to happen to this character. Simon is another character who gets both a physical and emotional blow in this instalment.

These three factors make Undying Legion a much more substantial and well-rounded book. There is a lot more happening than just finding the necromancer as the authors start to set up the plot arc with the two super evil demi-gods Ash and Gaios. There were hints of these two villains in the last book but they start to become the focus of the plot and set things in motion that will inevitably be resolved in book 3 - The Conquering Dark which I am really looking forward to reading.

The Shadow Revolution
Author:  Clay Griffith and Susan Griffith
Series: Crown & Key 1
Publisher:  Del Rey, June 2, 2015
Format:  Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 320 pages
List Price:  $7.99 (print)
ISBN:  978034553950 (print)
Review Copy:  Provided by the Publisher

A thrilling new Victorian-era urban fantasy for fans of Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid Chronicles, the Showtime series Penny Dreadful, and the Sherlock Holmes movies featuring Robert Downey, Jr.

They are the realm’s last, best defense against supernatural evil. But they’re going to need a lot more silver.

As fog descends, obscuring the gas lamps of Victorian London, werewolves prowl the shadows of back alleys. But they have infiltrated the inner circles of upper-crust society as well. Only a handful of specially gifted practitioners are equipped to battle the beasts. Among them are the roguish Simon Archer, who conceals his powers as a spell-casting scribe behind the smooth veneer of a dashing playboy; his layabout mentor, Nick Barker, who prefers a good pub to thrilling heroics; and the self-possessed alchemist Kate Anstruther, who is equally at home in a ballroom as she is on a battlefield.

After a lycanthrope targets Kate’s vulnerable younger sister, the three join forces with fierce Scottish monster-hunter Malcolm MacFarlane—but quickly discover they’re dealing with a threat far greater than anything they ever imagined.

Melanie's Thoughts

The writing couple of Susan and Clay Griffith set their new series in Victorian London but in a version of London where the supernatural and magic reign supreme. The authors quickly introduce the reader to the characters that will monopolise the story over the coming chapters. The opening chapters introduce us to Simon Archer, the rogue and ladies man whose body is covered with magical tattoos, and his friend and mentor, Nick Barker.  The pair walk on the fringes of society, never fully accepted but never far away from it either. Neither have exploited their magical talents and Simon's magical abilities are still largely untested. He has let his studies with Nick slide in favour of a night on the tiles with his friend. Everything is about to change when fate intervenes in the form of a vicious and deadly werewolf that rampages through a ball when they end up being helped by the aristocratic Kate Anstruther. It would seem that Kate has everything going for her - social standing, wealth, a famous family name, and intelligence. She could be one of society's darlings if she wasn't more interested in alchemy and science than her social standing. Finally there is Malcolm MacFarlane the gun toting Scottish hunter who dislikes Simon on sight. Things irrevocably change when Kate's sister is kidnapped and it is linked to a key that Simon wears around his neck. This group of misfits are drawn together to stop a a deadly predator that will take every weapon they have to defeat.

I think The Shadow Revolution suffered a bit from an identity crisis. It read in parts like steampunk but without any of the 'coolness' that comes from this genre. Simon relies on his magic, Malcolm on his weaponry and Kate on her alchemy. Separately they are almost insignificant but together they are a powerhouse. Their strengths did not, however, help them with the challenges they face when up against a legion of werewolves and a much older evil that threatens not just London. I have to completely disagree with the comparison to Kevin Hearne's Iron Druids series, Penny Dreadful or Sherlock Holmes (with Robert Downey Jr? almost an insult to Arthur Conan Doyle). These comparisons subjugate the Griffiths' characters and are not accurate. In my view neither the plotline nor the characters are like any of these other stories.

Overall, I liked this book but I was a bit surprised at its simplicity. I guessed nearly every plot twist or big reveal well before it happened. I didn't think it was as a challenging of a read as Griffiths' other series The Vampire Empire. I never knew what was going to happen next in that series yet in book 1 of The Crown and Key I guessed every one. It is still enjoyable and I do so like the plucky Kate and the acerbic Malcolm. Bring on book 2 - The Undying Legion.

Well this really wasn't a week for me getting much accomplished on the reading front. I wished it had been otherwise. I was on a course which involved an exam on Friday. It meant that rather than reading all the books I have on my TBR I had to read a really boring text book.  DULLSVILLE! Keep your fingers crossed for me that I passed and I can hide the text away for another 5 years. I did get two books read. So what did I read?


Lucky me. I managed to get my request for The Blood Curse by Emily Gee approved on NetGalley. This is the final book of The Cursed Kingdoms series which finishes off the epic journey of Harkeld and Innis which started back in 2011 with book 1 - The Sentinel Mage. I loved book 1 but was really disappointed with book 2 The Fire Prince as I thought that Harkeld had turned into a bit of a whiny jerk. Gee however, brings the story and the characters back to the gripping fantasy tale. Harkeld has one final stone to reach in order to stop the curse that is ravaging the kingdom. Now that Harkeld knows what Innis and the other mages are really capable of he is just a bit more than angry. He almost allows his anger to come between him and his mission to stop the curse. Close on his trail are a group of assassins who have captured Harkeld's step-sister Princess Brigitta. While they want to kill Harkeld and stop his mission Brigitta is determined to do anything possible to escape and save her brother. And finally there is the young Jaume who escaped his cursed family and then ends up in the care of the very assassins who want to stop Harkeld. Gee has captured the traditional good versus evil and wraps it up in a bloodshed and magic.

Gee restored my faith in this series with this final book. Instead of Harkeld wallowing in self pity he realises he holds the fate of the entire Kingdom in his hands. He also realises that his relationship with Innis is very important to him, despite the fact that she is a shapeshifting mage. While Harkeld 'gets his act together' Brigitta has to endure the torment of knowing she is being used as bait to capture Harkeld. I feel that Gee almost re-booted this series just through these two characters. The spoiled and pampered Harkeld and Brigitta grow up during the course of this final book despite the events of the previous two books. This is an action packed and gripping finale the series.


The other book I finished was The Shadow Revolution by Susan and Clay Griffith. This is the first novel in the Crown and Key series by the writing duo. I loved their Vampire Empire series and when I heard they had a steampunk/Victoriana series full of magic and mayhem I could hardly wait. However, I can't tell you what I thought as I am writing a full review. Sorry! You will just have to keep your eyes peeled for it.


That is all for me this week. I hope you have been more productive than I have been...or have a better excuse if not.  Until next week Happy Reading!

Fade In:

There are times when we just can’t write. It’s just not coming. So we watch movies. It’s not procrastinating. No, really. It’s inspirational. We’re working on our craft. Sometimes.

When we give workshops on writing genre fiction, we talk a lot about movies. There are several reasons. One is purely practical. Movies are more likely to be a shared experience among our audience than even a bestselling book. When we give an example from Star Wars, we’re more likely to reach most of the audience. If we give an example from even a famous book like The Great Gatsby or Dune, we hit fewer targets (unless they’ve also seen the movies).

The second, and more important reason, for talking about movies is that movies can teach prose writers, particularly genre writers, a lot about writing. Movies are about characters and action in concert. Successful movies teach lessons in how to stick to the point, cut the fat, keep it moving, raise the stakes, focus on character and plot and setting.

Obviously just dozing while watching a movie won’t teach you anything. Nor will watching the same type of movie all the time. Just as with books, we recommend stretching outside your comfort zone. Watch everything. Drama. Comedy. Musicals. Westerns. Horror. Blockbuster and indie. American and foreign. Study them. What is their point? How do they accomplish their goals?

And don’t limit yourself to contemporary movies. Some of the masters made their mark decades ago. Sure those movies may look dated because they’re black and white. You may not be able to relate to people wearing fedoras and saying “Say, baby, that’s swell!” But that’s like saying you won’t read Shakespeare because the characters “talk funny.” It’s okay to have preferences – we do. But you will be stunned by the things you can learn about storytelling from classic movies.

Another thing we do, and recommend for other writers, is to read books on screenwriting. Of course, there are millions of them out there because the “I Want to be a Millionaire Screenwriter” market is just as large as the “I Want to be a Millionaire Novelist” one. Maybe larger. So we’re careful not to fall down the rabbit hole of finding the next “How to Sell Your Screenplay” book. There are a handful that will suffice as the best in the field, and we’ve read most of them. It’s pretty easy to pick out a few of the good ones with a little snooping around online, like Adventures in the Screen Trade by William Goldman and Screenplay by Syd Field.

Our novels such as our new CROWN & KEY trilogy and our VAMPIRE EMPIRE series are often reviewed as being “fast-moving” and “cinematic” which is the very thing we are going after. However, readers also talk about how they fall in love with our characters, and we take great pride in that. Our ability to balance these two elements – character and action – owes much to being movie people (as well as comic book people, but that’s another blog post entirely!). In a movie, characters can’t usually have long internal monologues to explain their feelings. You have to see them. We try to show our characters doing things that define them.

Obviously in a novel, we have the resource of words on a page to accentuate important emotions. In literary fiction, the expression or revelation of emotion is often the point of the story. Since we write fantasy adventure novels, the point of emotional revelation is to let the reader know what the character is feeling as he or she moves forward in the action, so the reader can react with them. We try hard to blend the prose and film approaches in our genre fiction – seeing the characters act and feeling their emotions at the same time.

We want our readers to love our characters (or hate them), but do it while engaged in a thrill ride. We wouldn’t mind if readers feel an urge for popcorn while they read our books.

Fade Out.
The End.


More screenplay resources:
Story by Robert McKee
Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder
Writing Movies for Fun and Profit by Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon.

Crown & Key

The Shadow Revolution
Crown & Key 1
Del Rey, June 2, 2015
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 320 pages

A thrilling new Victorian-era urban fantasy for fans of Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid Chronicles, the Showtime series Penny Dreadful, and the Sherlock Holmes movies featuring Robert Downey, Jr.

They are the realm’s last, best defense against supernatural evil. But they’re going to need a lot more silver.

As fog descends, obscuring the gas lamps of Victorian London, werewolves prowl the shadows of back alleys. But they have infiltrated the inner circles of upper-crust society as well. Only a handful of specially gifted practitioners are equipped to battle the beasts. Among them are the roguish Simon Archer, who conceals his powers as a spell-casting scribe behind the smooth veneer of a dashing playboy; his layabout mentor, Nick Barker, who prefers a good pub to thrilling heroics; and the self-possessed alchemist Kate Anstruther, who is equally at home in a ballroom as she is on a battlefield.

After a lycanthrope targets Kate’s vulnerable younger sister, the three join forces with fierce Scottish monster-hunter Malcolm MacFarlane—but quickly discover they’re dealing with a threat far greater than anything they ever imagined.

The Undying Legion
Crown & Key 2
Del Rey, June 30, 2015
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 336 pages

A thrilling new Victorian-era urban fantasy for fans of Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid Chronicles, the Showtime series Penny Dreadful, and the Sherlock Holmes movies featuring Robert Downey, Jr.

With a flood of dark magic about to engulf Victorian London, can a handful of heroes vanquish a legion of the undead?

When monster-hunter Malcolm MacFarlane comes across the gruesome aftermath of a ritual murder in a London church, he enlists the help of magician-scribe Simon Archer and alchemist extraordinaire Kate Anstruther. Studying the macabre scene, they struggle to understand obscure clues in the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics carved into the victim’s heart—as well as bizarre mystical allusions to the romantic poetry of William Blake. One thing is clear: Some very potent black magic is at work.

But this human sacrifice is only the first in a series of ritualized slayings. Desperate to save lives while there is still time, Simon, Kate, and Malcolm—along with gadget geek Penny Carter and Charlotte, an adolescent werewolf—track down a necromancer who is reanimating the deceased. As the team battles an unrelenting army of undead, a powerful Egyptian mummy, and monstrous serpentine demons, the necromancer proves an elusive quarry. And when the true purpose of the ritual is revealed, the gifted allies must confront a destructive force that is positively apocalyptic.

The Conquering Dark
Crown & Key 3
Del Rey, July 28, 2015
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 352 pages

A thrilling new Victorian-era urban fantasy for fans of Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid Chronicles, the Showtime series Penny Dreadful, and the Sherlock Holmes movies featuring Robert Downey, Jr.

The Crown and Key Society face their most terrifying villain yet: Gaios, a deranged demigod with the power to destroy Britain.

To avenge a centuries-old betrayal, Gaios is hell-bent on summoning the elemental forces of the earth to level London and bury Britain. The Crown and Key Society, a secret league consisting of a magician, an alchemist, and a monster-hunter, is the realm’s only hope—and to stop Gaios, they must gather their full strength and come together as a team, or the world will fall apart.

But Simon Archer, the Crown and Key’s leader and the last living magician-scribe, has lost his powers. As Gaios searches for the Stone of Scone, which will give him destructive dominion over the land, monster-hunter Malcolm MacFarlane, alchemist extraordinaire Kate Anstruther, gadget geek Penny Carter, and Charlotte the werewolf scramble to reconnect Simon to his magic before the world as they know it is left forever in ruins.

About Clay and Susan

Clay Griffith and Susan Griffith met at a bookstore thanks to The Uncanny X-Men #201. They had to get married because of a love of adventure stories with heroes who save the day and fall in love. Soon they were writing stories together, including The Shadow Revolution and the Vampire Empire series. After years of comics, short stories, and novels, they remain happily married. When not writing or talking about writing, the couple watch classic movies, play Warcraft, and struggle to entertain their cat. They still have that copy of The Uncanny X-Men #201.





Facebook ~ Blog ~ Twitter @clayandsusan

I started to worry when I hit Wednesday and I hadn't finished a single book and therefore would have nothing to say to you in this Week in Review. I didn't even have a excuse like I was studying for a test but then it all came together towards the end of the week and I got two books read. I am returning to work next week after 2 months away so hoping that with the commute time that I am able to get back in the reading saddle and get through some books.

I started and finished the week with The Kingmakers by Susan and Clay Griffiths. This was the final book of the Vampire Empire trilogy and wrapped up the story for the Queen Adele and her vampire consort Greyfriar/Gareth. This was another treat in my book care package that I received a few weeks ago.  I read the first two books - The Greyfriar and The Riftwaker back in 2012 and had been searching for the final book since then. I could only find it here in the UK in the very expensive hardcover version and didn't feel like parting with £15+. I was very lucky to receive a review copy.

I enjoyed Griffiths' alternate world where vampires ruled Britain, Ireland and parts of France with Persia, Egypt and the rest of the middle East as the civilised world in the domain of humanity. I thought both lead characters Adele (a human Queen) and Gareth (a vampire prince) were well developed throughout all three novels and Griffiths' steampunk world was rich in detail. The start of this story found the pair in the midst of the war which was slaughtering most of the Empire's army and civilians as well.  Back in Britain, Gareth's brother Cesare was making plans to place himself as the king of the vampire race after a little patricide. This part of the story was really engaging and I was a little surprised I enjoyed it as much as I did as I don't often like stories with military themes. The story seemed to almost slow down once the main battle was done and felt like it was dragging. The rest of the action including the culmination of at least 3 different plot lines all happened in the last 15-20 pages. It felt very rushed after drawing out the middle chapters. Overall, this is a good series, set in an interesting world.

I also finished The Wicked We Have Done by Sarah Harian which is one of the debuts out next week and the first in the Chaos Theory series. I will be writing a full review of this book so be sure to check back on Tuesday to find out what I thought.

I only just started Dream London by Tony Ballantyne which has me really intrigued as I have no idea what  is going on! Sometimes, I like the feeling that a book is going to challenge me and get my brain working.  I hope to tell you more about this book next week when I will also hopefully figure out what it is all about.

I am keeping this WIR short and sweet as I have been taxing my typing skills and your reading skills over the last few weeks. Until next week Happy Reading.

This was a really productive week for me on the reading front but more importantly on the book receiving front. I was mega lucky to get a whole delicious box of books from Qwill. Check it out! I was super douper excited as in the box was the ARC of Dawn's Early Light by Philippa Ballantine and Tee Morris.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this series and can hardly wait to dig into it. I was very noble and decided to let the hubinator read it first. How nice am I? I was also really lucky to receive King Maker which is the final book of the Vampire Empire series. I have been trying for about 2 years (poss 3) to find this book in the UK, well find it for a reasonable price and so I jumped at the chance when Qwill said she had it. I also have one of the Eddie Lacrosse books, the next two books in the Suzanne Johnson's Sentinels of New Orleans series and you can just barely see Fallout by James K Decker. Keep your eye out for what I think of these books in either full reviews on here in my Week in Review.

I did also read a book or two! I finished both Vn and iD which are the first two books of the The First Machine Dynasty series by Madeleine Ashby. I will be doing a full review of both of these books so I don't want to give to much away here. What I can say is that I love the covers. They are both eye catching and almost set the mood for the books themselves. I am only going to share the one cover with you so that I don't spoil you for the full review!

I did the happy dance when The Undead Pool by Kim Harrison popped onto my Kindle. I was really looking forward to this installment from The Hollows series as it seemed like quite a while since the last book was out. I like this series but was a tiny bit disappointed by this book. I thought it read like the final book of the series but when I looked on Harrison's website she said she is contracted for one more. I am not sure what plot they are going to squeeze out of Rachel and her quirky group of friends as almost everything seemed to get wrapped up. My favourite character, the fairy Jenks was much more in the background. There were relatively few exclamations like 'Tink's titties' for my liking. Both Jenks and Ivy appeared in every chapter but they shared much less of the 'limelight' than they did in other novels in this series. Nearly every secondary character was involved in some way in the plot which also lent itself to the 'final' book feeling. I am always a tad disappointed when an author continues a series when they have hit on a great exit novel. This aside I did like it and look forward to the actual final book.

The last book I want to tell you about is Last Blood by Kristen Painter which is the actual final book of the House of Comarre series. I really enjoyed this series at first. I thought that Chrysabelle was quite kick ass for a vampire blood donor and the cursed vampire Malkom reminded me of Angel (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer). As the series progressed I lost interest in the characters and almost gave up at book 4. I was doing a little trawl of Amazon and discovered this final instalment on sale so thought I might as well get closure. All I can say is I wish this book had stayed locked in the forgotten part of my memory. I was quite bored and flicking pages towards the end. This series suffered from too many characters who all seemed to fight to be the reader's favourite and none of them succeeded...at least not with me. As a consequence they were rather one dimensional. If they were good they practically had a halo and if they were bad they cackled like a witch. All this did was make me lose interest as the characters were way to predictable which gives me a big case of the snores.

Well that is it for me. I am hoping to read a few of my 'Qwill goodies' next week so please check in and find out what I read and what I thought. Until then Happy Reading.

Amanda Stevens