Review: Least Enjoyable of Series
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 09 15, 2011
Southern Arcana is a solid series, but Cipher falls short. I won't go into the plot b/c it's been summarized by others.The biggest problem is Kat & Andrew, and since this is their book, it's a big problem. The hurdle in their relationship felt too artificial. I wouldn't have minded the contrived emotional drama if it were resolved early on, but it wasn't & two-thirds of the book was a repetitive loop of: flashback to last year's attack, misunderstanding eachother, allowing misunderstanding to fester, reconnecting, flashback to last years attack... Even when I read about them in the prior books, I couldn't help but feel their drama could be resolved with a heartfelt conversation.I know it's a theme in all the books, but the whole alpha-instinct thing really annoyed me. This is book 4, I get it, alphas can't help but be over-protective control freaks. It doesn't have to be mentioned constantly. The trait also bordered on making the characters unlikable. What stands out for me is Mac ordering Sera to stay behind during the climactic rescue b/c she's a submissive & will be a distraction (who is she to make this order & isn't this the same Sera who single-handedly escaped her abusive alpha husband?).The book picked up /w towards the end, and there was enough of Miguel, Sera & Julio to keep me interested. Overall, the weakest of the series, but not so bad I'm giving up on it just yet.