Review: This is how you conclude a series!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 13, 2014
There is something both painful and pleasurable at reaching the final book in a series. There are many where I've dreaded reading them because I get ridiculously invested in fictional characters. I want to see their story reach a stunning climax filled with redemption or love or some variation thereof. Yet, I know that once it happens the adventure I share in is over. Rereading is the only time I will see 'my friends' again but there is something unbeatable about the first time that no reread ever quite matches. NIGHT CHILD was the first book that I've finished a series with where I have been in a full-on book hangover that's held me back from reviewing. Reviewing is *my* climax in this story of a girl and her beloved characters. It's my saying goodbye and makes it all final.Do I sound melodramatic? I darn sure better because I'm a little embarrassed at how deeply this book affected me. It was action-packed and intense, the kind of adventure that has you holding your breath as you tear through the pages. Muriah and Issa have a chemistry that is pretty amusing from the get-go and develops into something both sensual and deep. There were lines in this book, scenes where Issa's feelings were expressed in ways that left me in awe. Oft times declarations of love, especially involving ancient immortal heroes, come off as cheesy and make me cringe. Kessler crafted dialog for Issa that made me look over at my snoring husband and wonder if he ever thought the same deep love for me. If you're a romantic at heart prepare to be wowed.But the Night series has been about so much more than just love finding the inhabitants of it. The series spanning story arc reaches a dire point and even though in my rational mind I knew it would end happily there were times my emotional side forgot that. There are some nail-biting moments where the big evil seemed sure to win. Thank goodness that as much as I love a redeemable villain, Apep, is just plain bad. Terrifying and cold, he made NIGHT CHILD impossible to put down as he threatened not just the fate of characters I'd grown to know and love, but the world itself.If you've been reading the series you are going to love, love, love NIGHT CHILD. But the good news is, the romance side of it stands alone well enough that you could read it and easily go back to read each previous story from the beginning. I was utterly spent by the end of it and it touched me on such a personal level I'll admit here I am two weeks out and still trying to get over it. Bring your tissues and be prepared to need a nap the next day, you aren't going to want to put this down.Notes: ARC received via publisher.