Early Review - Afterlife (Evernight, Book 4) by Claudia Gray (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Size:  368 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: March 8, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0061284427
Stand Alone or Series: 4th (and last) book in the Evernight series
Source: Around the World ARC Tours
Rating: 4/5 stars
 

I got a copy of this book through Around the World ARC Tours.  I was eager to read this conclusion to the Evernight

The third book left us at a total cliffhanger; Bianca had turned Wraith and Lucas is left for dead.  Bianca has to decide to let Lucas live or to turn him.  The decision happens in the first couple pages of the book (so I am not spoiling it here).  Unfortunately Lucas is one of the hungry vampires and every day is a struggle for him; him and Bianca return to Evernight where Lucas seeks sanctuary.  Miss Bethany eagerly grants him sanctuary, but there are other problems.  Evernight is like a trap for Bianca, Bianca is being pressured by the wraiths to fulfill a higher purpose, and Miss Bethany has a dark plan afoot.

If you have read the other books in the series then you have to read this book.  The third book, Hourglass, leaves you in a horrible place but this book does an excellent job resolving that.

Most of the book takes place back at Evernight as the character struggle to figure out the link between Miss Bethany and the Wraiths.  All the characters that you love and adore are back and wonderful.  The plot was fantastic, engaging and kept you guessing as to how everything would turn out.

There were a couple plot elements that I truly enjoyed I loved learning more about the Wraiths, how they work, and what there purpose is.  I loved learning about what made Bianca special as someone who was basically born Wraith.  The combination of powers between the Vampires and Wraiths and how they are interconnected was fascinating.  The way everything is tied together and resolved at the end was clever and satisfying.

There were a couple small things that bugged me a bit.  The pace of this novel is pretty deliberate, it is better than the first couple, but still slow.  I am pretty resigned to this at this point because I think it is just how this author writes.  Also some things revolving around Charity remain unresolved at the end of the book and I was hoping for some clearer resolution there.

Overall I think fans of this series will be very happy.  It is an enjoyable read, very creative, nice plot twists, and an excellent ending to this series.  If you are a fan of this series, pick up this book as soon as it releases! series.  It was a great book and concluded the series well; a lot happens in this book and there is more action than in previous books.

 

Hourglass (Evernight, Book 3) by Claudia Gray (4/5 stars)

This is the third book in the Evernight series by Claudia Gray.  Last I heard this is planned to be a 4 book series with the fourth book "Afterlife" being released in December of 2010.  I got this book as an uncorrected proof, through the Amazon Vine program.  This was the best book in the series so far.

Bianca and Lucas are on the run with the Black Cross Brotherhood.  They want to take off on their own but have no means to do so.  Bianca is continuing to struggle to hide her living vampire status from the Black Cross Group, she is also struggling with continued bouts of unexplained weakness and illness.  Then the Black Cross is attacked by vampires and one of them (being Balthazar) is taken in for questioning.  Will Bianca be able to hide what she is?  What about the wraiths, is Bianca safe from them or will she finally fine out what they mean when they say that "She is theirs"?  Will Bianca and Lucas be able to rescue Balthazar while keeping their true loyalties hidden?  Lots of questions and this book give you lots of answers to those questions.

This was a great addition to this series.  It was interesting to see Bianca and Lucas on the run together.  This book had more action than the previous books, but I still wouldn't call it action-packed.  Some of the book is dedicated to Bianca an Lucus struggling to hide and just make a living.  I was a little frustrated with Bianca's helplessness in many of the situations, but it was understandable given how she was raised.  It was nice to see Bianca get some training in fighting and hunting while she was with the Black Cross.  Bianca becomes a more admirable character in this book, showing inner strength in certain instances where in the previous books she would have just whined.

There is a lot I can't say about this story without giving away spoilers.  So, let's just say that you learn a lot more about Bianca and how she was born, you also learn a lot more about how the wraiths interact with her. 

As with the last two books Gray's writing style is nothing spectacular, but it is very readable and engaging.  I think the writing is much better than The House of Night series.  The plot pulls you through the book making it a rapid read, there are a couple of huge surprises.  This book has much better pacing than the first two books; the action is spread out throughout the story and there aren't as many pages given to Bianca whining or other teenage angsting.  Although, like the previous two books, most of the excitement and surprises happen in the last third of the book. 

The only complaint I have is that the ending completely leaves you hanging.  So, expect to be extremely frustrated at the end of this book.  In fact if you can, I would wait to read this one until book 4 comes out...but given the cliffhanger of "Stargazer" (book 2) I know I was having trouble waiting for book 3...anyway just a suggestion.  You definitely do need to read the two books previous to this one to make sense of anything that happens in this book.

Overall this was the best book in the series so far.  More action and more surprises than the first two books.  Gray's writing style makes it all a pleasure to read.  I can't wait to get my hands on "Afterlife"!

This series went towards the following reading challenges:
- The Young Adult Reading Challenge
- The 100+ Book Reading Challenge

 

News - Release Date for "Hourglass", book 3 of the Evernight series

I just found out today that the third book in the Evernight series, "Hourglass", by Claudia Grey is going to be released on March, 9th 2010. This series has been okay, not my favorite young adult series right now; but good enough that I want to finish it.

After "Hourglass" there remains one more book in the series that will be titled "Afterlife".

The cover art for "Hourglass" is shown below.

Stargazer by Claudia Grey (3/5 stars)

This is the second book in the Evernight series. There are supposed to be four books in the series. This book was much like the first book for me. If you liked the first book you will like this one. It is beautifully written, the first part is kind of boring and nothing happens, and then the last few chapters are so packed with action it's amazing.

Bianca is returning to school after a grueling summer separated from Lucas. Upon returning to school she finds out that she is being haunted by wraiths. Much of the story deals with Bianca trying to get away from campus to secretly meet with Lucas. Balthazar is also in the story a lot.

The pacing of this book matched the first book. It is pretty darn boring for the first two thirds. A lot of teenage angsting going on as Bianca feels sorry for herself because she can't be with Lucas. The wraith hauntings happen at wide intervals and are the only interesting thing in the beginning of the book. The end of the book however is packed with so many revelations and action scenes that it leaves you dizzy.

This whole series has been much more well-written than the House of the Night series by PC and Kirsten Cast. Unfortunately the pacing is such that I find these books to be pretty dull. I don't really think Bianca is the most inspriing character either.

The end of the book is fantastic and almost makes up for the slow beginning. The end was enough to make me want to know what happens in the next book. This book was definitely a transition novel that builds to the next book. This book is definitely not a stand alone; you need to read Evernight first. Also this book doesn't resolve much at all; so for any resolution you'll have to hang around for the next book "Hourglass".

Evernight by Claudia Gray (3/5 stars)

This book was more of a romance than a fantasy. That being said it was well-written and kept my attention. It rehashes some subject matter than has (kind of) been visited before in other books. It reminded me a lot of the Twilight series and of The House of Night series. Although it was much higher writing quality than the House of Night series.

Bianca is forced to enroll in the Evernight Academy when her parents move there to become teachers. She doesn't like the academy and doesn't seem to get along with the students there. That's until she bumps into Lucas; Bianca and Lucas seem to have a connection with each other that is beyond a normal teenage crush. With Lucas there Bianca thinks she may just be able to make it through a year at the Academy.

I had one huge problem with this book. I will try my best not to put any spoilers in here... So, let's just say that the revealing of both Bianca's family secret and the school's secret came right out of left field. I wasn't expecting it. To me the book before the secret was revealed and after the secret was revealed, was almost written like two different books. This really bothered me; I almost went back to read the first half of the book over again because I wanted to make sure it remained consistent with the second half of the book. I didn't though, and it still bothers me that there was such a style shift mid-book.

Overall this was a fun, well-written, easy to read book. I didn't think it was incredibly creative; I think it's rehashing too much of a type of young adult genre that we already have a lot out there for. Some of the aspects of the world created here are interesting but they didn't really blow me away. The characters were interesting also but not especially engaging.

As for whether or not I will read the next book in the series (if there is one). I don't know. There is potential for some interesting storytelling here. But at the finish of this book I wasn't dying to read the next one.