For the whole series: By the gods and kittens, that *censored* hurt.

Seriously excellent world building, really strong character development, a fascinating look at ethics without truth, and just... damn. An impressive and in many ways resonating construct, but I'm literally writing myself a note to never pick this particular series back up again because the price is so damn high.

And yeah, it gets five stars. Because it does what it does so very well. And because so many of the underlying structures are absolutely beautiful. ( )

We've gone from necromancy to body horror to becoming one half of some sort of demon/human hybrid soulmate thingie across these books, with friend or lover or frenemies dying left and right and turning poor Dante into a walking wreck... or a wrecking ball.

In other words, it's a decent UF with all the goodies AND it's as high-tech futuristic as it is fully magical and full of practitioners of all kinds of magical arts AND a full community of Demons pulling strings from hell. You know, like Satan. Or Japh, Dante's soul mate. :) Details.

But this book picks up on a dour note mainly because of the strong-arm tactics of Satan and his need to quash the rebellion brewing because his control over his possible new children is slipping.... or has already slipped.

And now Dante and Japh are on or will soon be on different sides of this little nightmare. Dante is going to save her kin. Japh is just trying to survive, and if he doesn't deliver, both of them are going to die.

Here's a GOOD conflict. Add all the sexual tension, the jerky behavior of a demon who can't or won't understand, and the love between them. Add swords, lasers, vamps, undead magicians, werewolves, gene-spliced and augmented hackers.

And MORE dead friends.

Let's let Dante go all out on a revenge kick. And have to decide whether she will betray all her principles AND her death god Anubis. :)

Pretty cool popcorn fiction by any standard. :) And yes, I'm still having fun. Isn't that the point? ( )

Synopsis: Someone has killed Gabe and Eddie because Eddie found the cure for Chill. Dante must revenge their deaths while trying to keep herself alive. Eve finds her and again asks for her help.
Review: Dante is still not thinking things through and this is getting tedious. Some of the story line seems a bit confused with the same information presented in multiple places, as though the reader were seeing it for the first time. ( )

2.5 stars

I greatly enjoyed this series when it started, but the third starting kindling a fire in me against the protagonist. This one simply transformed it into all consuming RAGE.

For, you see, I hate Dante Valentine. She is ridiculously irritating. She's always a jumbled mess - never trusting Japh when he's there but angry if she wakes up and he's gone. She knows about all there is to know about what she is, but keeps running around moaning she doesn’t know enough. She doesn’t trust anyone. She kills with ease, even people who are nice to her. She has little emotion and is incredibly selfish.

I like the stories but I always found the connection she felt with Eve the Androgyne and the story with all that dumb. In this book it interfered even more – SIGH. Dante’s stupidity and dreadful attitude made my rage ignite several times, while other times at least it was a slow simmer so I could enjoy it overall.

There’s not as much action anymore as Dante obsesses and then re-obsesses about her relationship drama and trust issues. Egads.

Also, another dark streak from the author as two friends are killed off for a point not easily digested. I just don’t understand Dante’s instant attraction to these children she’s never met either. Sure, as babies and children we should care about them, but she’s so fast to throw anyone out of her life for the “love” she has for a child she thinks is her (so annoying) and this new child she hasn’t even seen yet and just learned about.

For pros, I loved the Selene stuff, that’s an interesting twist. The author has woven a complex world for the demons but, to me, could have explored necromancy more (her version, not Anita Blakes). She also doesn’t have other supernatural creatures besides psychics and witch type abilities.

The author also ended on an annoying cliffhanger like a tv show, which I find cheating in the way it's done. To me this book was an annoying continuation of the last books’ distrust from Dante, and she even gets worse here.
( )

So Japhrimel had annoyed me in the last book and he is still annoying me. But Dante told him where to put in this time so I am happier with her at the end of this one than the last. But Dante is still being very bad at relationships so she does not get a pass either. Instead of being honest with Japhrimel, she just avoids it. Until she cannot any more then she yells. I would like it better if they would just yell it out and then move on. But that is not the way that this works. It ends with a cliffhanger that, maybe, I would have found annoying if I was reading this as it came out but I am not sure. But I did not think that it was a cheap place to leave Dante. Only one more book to go then finished with this series.

I give this book a Four out of Five stars. ( )