Review: Marvelous collection!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 15, 2014
I read the first chapter of the first book in Laura Kaye's series, North of Need, just before it came out in 2011. Knowing this was a series, I decided to wait until she was done to read the novels. Figured I could then just sit and read, for hours, through the entire saga.It was definitely well worth the wait!NORTH OF NEED:This was a fascinating start to the Hearts of the Anemoi series. My heart hurt for Megan as she waited to get through the anniversary of her husband's death. She cries tears of sorrow all over a snowman she's created in her yard. Later, when a man with mismatched eyes shows up, then passes out, on her porch, it distracts her from her sorrow.Owen is something else...really. He's got a chance at mortality, and he's going to take it with both hands. Megan is ready to let her heart heal, too. I did wish that he had been more clear in what was needed to keep him there, and that she would have quit fighting her heart for so long. It would have been a much shorter book that way, though, and I wouldn't have wanted to miss the good parts!Ms. Kaye has quite the world here, contemporary mixed with her Anemoi and the Olympic gods. In this one, as with the other three, I skimmed the repetition. I read a comment from one author, whose name I can't remember, who said that a writer needs to mention the important stuff three times. Unfortunately, I think many writers feel that means repeat it at least six times. I think readers are brighter than that.Anyway, this book certainly made me want to read the rest of the series.WEST OF WANT:Goodness, Zeph is gorgeous, but haunted. He's had a lot of bad luck in his very long life. That seems to be continuing when, in a fit of temper, he causes a storm that swamps a boat. As he feels the life there fading, his guilt causes him to save her. His guilt also makes him watch over her. She's pretty, isn't she? Surely it's guilt that keeps him there. We know differently.Ella has trust issues, too. It takes more than a pretty face to make her commit to a relationship. I liked that she and Zeph worked at it. Well, when they did! They both ran scared a time or three.This is the book where we meet the bad guy, Eurus, who is Zeph's brother. And he really is pretty bad. And he LIKES it. Very creepily done, Ms. Kaye.Again, the repetition made me skim, but I did enjoy seeing Owen and Megan again. And meeting the guys from the next two books was fun. Was very happy that the next book was right there in the Kindle Bundle so I could continue reading.SOUTH OF SURRENDER:Wow, if you thought Zeph from West of Want was gorgeous, just wait until you read Chrysander's description. Yeah, hot doesn't begin to cover it. From the previous books, I thought he was going to be a total man-whore. Nope, he's really a great guy. Why else would he be trying to save his evil brother Eurus? And he tries, boy does he try. That usually means he gets beat upon.Laney is losing her vision. When she finds a Pegasus in her barn, she can't quite believe it. She's even more confused when she wakes to find the winged creature gone, and a man in its place.Poor Chrys is torn. Then he's ticked when brother dear, Eurus, brings his eye, and hatred toward Laney. Choices have to be made. Once again, I was reading as fast as I could to get to the climatic end. While each of these books doesn't actually end with a "cliffie", they don't tie up all the loose ends.Well, until the last one, East of Ecstasy. Glad I waited for the series to finish before I started reading. The tension is extreme!