Review - The Pearl of the Soul of the World (Darkangel, Book 3) by Meredith Ann Pierce (3.5/5 stars)

This is the final book in the Darkangel trilogy by Meredith Ann Pierce.  It was written in much the same style of the previous two books.  I found the ending very disappointing though and didn't think this book did a very good job wrapping up the series.

Aeriel has found all of the Guardians and is on her way to decipher the rest of the prophecy.  Will her and her friends be able to defeat the water witch?  In this book we finally meet the Ravenna and Aeriel finally faces the water witch.

This book was much like the previous two in tone.  Pacing is again inconsistent with periods of action and then long periods of waiting.  The writing is still beautiful and the premise continues to be very creative.  The characters are only somewhat engaging and I didn't find any of them to be all that likable.  You definitely need to read the first two books of this series to understand what is going on in this book.

I was very disappointing in the ending of this book.  If you read the Publishers Weekly description on Amazon.com you will know what I mean.  Aeriel is only briefly reunited with her husband before she has to go off to save the rest of the world.  So, basically although the water witch is defeated, the book ends with the whole world still perched on the edge of destruction.  Despite Aeriel's initial upset at having to leave her husband and her husband'sinitial comments about how sad he is; her husband has nothing to say about it in the last few pages of the book.  It was like suddenly Irrylath fell out of the book and didn't have anymore say in the rest of the story.

Overall the writing style is much like previous books and it is a creative book.  If you read the first two books you will have to read this one.  I found the ending to be extremely unsatisfying and disappointing and not in keeping with the characters previous decisions.

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

 

Review - The Darkangel (Darkangel Trilogy, Book 1) by Meredith Ann Pierce (4/5 stars)

This is the first book in the Darkangel Trilogy by Meredith Ann Pierce.  This was an excellent book, very fairy tale like in the telling and an interesting, somewhat traditional, take on vampirism.

Aeriel's friend is taken away by a vampire to become his bride.  Aeriel is determined to find her friend and take her back home.  When the vampire comes to take her she finds herself in a castle where only a gnome-like mage, gargoyles, and the wraiths of the vamp's wives are her company.   Aeriel must find what she needs to do to free the wraiths from the vampire's clutches.  Her quest will take her on a magical and fantastical journey.

The writing for this book is a bit dated but good.  At times the writing is incredibly descriptive.  The story is very fairy tale like, slow-moving at times with lots of deliberate description.  There isn't a ton of action here.  The pacing is variable; at times the story moves forward at a very deliberate pace then all of the sudden months have gone by.  This story is not for people who are really into high action or fighting scenes.  If you are into fairy tales then this is the story for you; that is the best description for this book....classic fairy tale style.

Overall this is a beautiful story and very gothic.  It is also a fairly short book; takes maybe a couple hours to read.  Appropriate for young adult readers or maybe even younger readers who don't scare easily.  I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series :-)

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- The Young Adult Reading Challenge
- The 100+ Book Reading Challenge
- 1st in a Series Reading Challenge