To be honest, I did not expect the conclusion of this trilogy to go where it went. In a way, that’s why Rhiannon Frater is so brilliant. She has the ability to write great stories and surprise you at every turn. I was definitely expecting a final battle between the main character Amaliya and her arch nemesis, The Summoner and that was delivered, but everything about it was unexpected, and definitely entertaining.
Personally, I think when it comes to writing, Rhiannon Frater’s strong point is creating great character. Amaliya and Cian, from the very beginning, had good strong chemistry, and I loved seeing it evolve throughout the trilogy. Theirs was definitely not your typical romance, but it’s the type of love that could and did stand against the true test of time: the end of the world. Their relationship, however, isn’t without its faults but the connectedness between the character is what anyone would dream to have in any relationship. Their ability to feel each other’s emotions and read some of each other’s thoughts also helped them bond and really forge and strong duo. Personally, being able to read my boyfriend’s thoughts and feelings would creep the hell out of me, but for Amaliya and Cian, it simply allowed their bond to be that much stronger. Cian and Amaliya were by far my favorite characters but the rest of the cast were also very notable.
Cian’s cabal is definitely the most eclectic Scooby gang since Buffy the Vampire Slayer. You wouldn’t expect this odd bunch to be able to save the world but that’s what makes it that much more fun. Cassandra, Cian’s dhampir daughter and her girlfriend Aimee, the white witch, make an unlikely couple but really works in this urban fantasy. What’s more, the homosexual relationship wasn’t placed there to prove a point, but because it was probably second nature for the author to write about this type of relationship. The rest of the Scooby gang included a ghost whisperer, a pseudo bookworm leader, a shapeshifter and a brother-sister techno geek team. (Please note that I call them the Scooby gang but they never do call themselves that.) When you look at it this way, it really has many similarities to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, including saving the world from total evil domination. However, the biggest difference is that the main character is actually a vampire herself, but one with a conscience, obviously.
Overall, the novel was a great one but the pace of the story was a bit slow at times, and a little too fast in others. The flow could have been a little better but despite this small inconvenience, it was a great urban fantasy novel. The antagonist was as crazy as you might expect, and if it weren’t for the Summoner, I don’t think Amaliya would be the vampire she is without him. With an antagonist like the Summoner, that author was definitely not afraid to kill innocents bystanders. Truthfully, I expected more members of the Scooby gang to be killed off and while it would have been sad, I think more deaths on the good guys’ side would have been more realistic. Speaking of realistic, while I’m a big fan of happily-ever-after endings, I think the end of this book was a little too happily-ever-after. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate the ending, I just thought it would have been a little different.
PRETTY WHEN SHE DESTROYS is a great conclusion to this epic trilogy and I highly recommend the whole trilogy to vampire and Buffy fans alike. Rhiannon’s dry humor and sarcasm shines throughout the book with Amaliya’s character. I’ve come to expect great things from Rhiannon and whether you read her self-published books or her big publisher books, you’ll never be disappointed. Her individual writing style is obvious in everything she writes and with this trilogy over, I’m anxious to see what she comes up with next.
Don’t forget to check out my post from last week for the PRETTY WHEN SHE DESTROYS blog tour, and your chance to win awesome prizes! You don’t want to miss out on this series!
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