The Argeneau series can always be depended upon fun quick, fun, relaxing read. I suppose a series like this breeds expectation and this one fell a bit short in my mind. It was entertaining for sure but the drama was dragged too long so that everything was wrapped up in 30 pages at the end. All the grand reveal was a tad bit too much to be believable even for this series. The comments from the peanut gallery was annoying at times too. I am still interested to know about the other member of the band and Marguerite was quite the matchmaker.
Ann Aguirre has a way of writing that grips me and doesn't let go. The story is constructed in a such a way that this scenario is almost believable. Outpost follows on the events from Enclave and now Deuce, Stalker, Fade and Tegan have found a human settlement to rest from "freaks" attacks. The society functions on a fundamentalist doctrine after bio-plagues. The author really tried to stay true to what you would expect to survive in a post-apocalyptic setting with research on how long canned goods last and such.
I especially liked that all the main protagonists, while out of their element were not reduced to complete followers and incompetent fool just trying to flee and survive. Deuce, while admitting to herself that her view of life was flawed, she tries to integrate into this new society while remaining true to herself.
I liked book 2 better than the first one. It is my understanding that the series improves greatly after book 3. Sylvester hands over to Toby an easy babysitting job. Once again nothing is what it seems, from a simple murder investigation springs into a frantic chase to keep people alive. I loved that the one gift Toby has in her arsenal did not help her. I normally can find out who the killer is but the author pulled some pretty convincing read herding.
I am pretty wary of teenager sidekick but Quentin held his own remarkably. I really enjoyed Tybalt in this book and I hope that his relationship with Toby continues to develop in future books. I am beginning to see why people love this series.
I'm late getting into this series after everybody has praised it up and down. I guess I was expecting to be blown away by an amazing plot (and maybe because I am reading 2 other very good books at the same time as this one). I am not sure if I can be completely honest and do justice to this story. I'll say that I rarely read Young Adult books that I end up liking. I don't know why but this one kept me interested until the end so it's a good thing.Cassandra Clare created a fantasy adventure with interesting characters with quirks and distinct personality traits making them come to life. The world created where demons, vampires, werewolves, faeries, angels and any other species do exist under the mundanes's noze was well put. I can see why it would appeal to a younger audience as well as adults because there is a balance of ageless wonder with enough sophistication to please everyone.
I had expected the main heroine, Clary, to be bitter about what happened to her but in many ways it helped her have less baggage than the rest. This cast of characters Jace, Simon, Isabelle, Alec, Magnus, Luke, Hodge, Jocelyn, Valentine, the Silent Brothers...were all entertaining and I wish to know more about them.
My main difficulty was the villain of the story. I know they are painted as evil with "benevolent" ideals...but really the author overdid it. I cannot believe that anyone would follow a silver-tongued sociopath like him! At times it was even laughable.
I still want to continue reading to discover the dynamics holding this cast together.
![DEAD[ish] - Naomi Kramer](http://booklikes.com/photo/max/200/300/upload/books/0/f/0fb0796d80b817f2e7658ecec4a5ecfa.jpg)
Even with a longer page count the story did not drag while not featuring the frantic drama of her Cassie Palmer series. The story picks up with the ongoing war with the Black Circle and the challenges to fill the empty seats on the North American Senate. Mircea has managed to employ Dory with the Vampire Senate task force on the smuggling of magical items and weaponry out of Faerie. Obviously nothing is as it seems and a few wrench es are thrown in everybody's perfect plans. Ray turned from only a comic relief to an important character that pulls his own weight in the fights.Louis Cesare's character has undergone some changes that I was not really happy with but he is as ever determined to win Dory's heart even if she does not want to give it away. It creates lots of tender moments that I treasure.
As if there were not enough drama, we get treated to many more glimpses into Mircea's struggle with having a father-daughter relationship with Dory. In many respect, a lot of loose ends are tied up to explain their current problems and it is a delight to wonder where those revelations will take the story to.
It has been sitting in my kindle for ever and the only regret I feel is that I did not read it sooner. I normally do not go for books without supernatural elements but it was incredibly good. Some of the scenes, while featuring questionable hygiene, are so hot you better have at least a BOB close at hand or even better.
