Review: Anxiously anticipating book three
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 16, 2014
Ring, Wally, and Risa are back!  And this time they are joined by an unlikely trio of allies; a demigod, a priest, and a succubus.Delphine (a succubus), who was in book one, enlists the help of our immortal fighting trio to stop Elizabeth from ascending to the throne of Hell.  Ring, Wally, and Risa know first hand what Elizabeth is capable of and know they have no choice but to join Delphine's fight to stop Elizabeth at all costs.  Even if it means one of them might never return from the battle.This book does bounce around a lot.  Thankfully it's easy to not get lost because each chapter is clearly "labeled".  We are given a very in-depth look at the depravity that Elizabeth is capable of through letters that she has written to Delphine over the course of 2400 years (don't worry, only the important letters are there... you don't have to slog through over 2 centuries worth of letters) and also through the Archangels that she gathers around her.  Delphine's story is also slowly revealed through these letters; how she has held on to her humanity and refuses to turn into what Elizabeth is and how this displeases Elizabeth; she also opens up to Ring about a lot of things about her past that she's never shared with anyone.  But in order for them to survive this battle, it's information he has to have.I gave this book 4 little bookie monsters because, quite honestly, this book was like word porn for me!  I'm a word nerd at heart and man does Terry Maggert make my heart jump for joy!  So many times you see an author throw a few big words around and you have to shake your head and wonder if they even own a dictionary.  The words seem so out-of-place among the rest of the writing that it's obvious they just Googled for synonyms for any commonly used word and just picked the longest one; not even worrying if it's used in context or not.  Not only are the words used in context, they flow seamlessly with the rest of Mr. Maggert's writing style.  Yes, definitely word porn!The only reason I didn't give it one more little bookie worm?  The whole book the suspense is building up over the impending battle with Elizabeth.  She is gathering dark, horribly nasty souls around her as Archangels; buying up property in New Orleans to house these ugly, depraved souls and either committing horrible crimes against them (to feed from their souls), or having them commit some unspeakable act.  And then..... well, I was terribly let down with how it all went down.  I expected a fight... some epic battle  between Ring and Elizabeth, perhaps with Wally and Risa providing backup.  Or maybe Father Kevin stepping in with some divine intervention.  Maybe seeing Achilles and Patroclus in action.... and I can't really see anything else because then it just gives it away.  It was just a little anti-climactic for me.  Inventive, I'll give them that... they figured it all out... but not what I was expecting at all.Overall this is a good read, and while this is book two, it can be read as a stand alone.  I had not read book one prior to starting this one and aside from a few minor things, the story made absolute sense.  Most of the characters who were in book one that make an appearance again, their relationship is explained within the story.  Of course, I would recommend reading them in order.  The ending is not a huge cliffhanger, but gives the reader just enough to have you anxiously anticipating book three.  This is a very well written book and quite an enjoyable read.  A great read during vacation.