Masks by Karen Chance

A Spoiler Free Review

I was honestly very bored with a lot of this novella. There were bits and pieces sprinkled in that kept me reading, but I was bored for a great majority of my reading experience. Ms. Chance also did that thing where she info-dumped the “twist” for about three chapters. I was not pleased.

Masks just felt really tedious, to me. It’s a portion of Mircea’s backstory punctuated by a flashback of right after her was turned. It just seemed to go on and on forever. Seriously, an almost blow-by-blow account of Mircea’s time in Venice, during which we meet some characters who mostly don’t seem to matter in the grand scheme of the Cassie Palmer/Dorina Basarab universe. I guess I don’t actually know that, as far as I haven’t finished the series yet, but… yeah. Given how far back in time this is versus the present day setting of the series and Cassie’s utter lack of knowledge of Mircea’s past… yeah… I don’t really see Bezio and Jerome and Auria showing up in the main books.

I also think the sheet amount of sex in the book was also a turn off (pardon the pun). I don’t have a problem with sex scenes being in books, I think it’s healthy to show every part of life, however, personally, I’ve been skimming or skipping the sex scenes for years. Too much saturation of sex stuff personally from the massive amounts I’d get in fanfiction when I was younger… so having this part of Mircea’s life be when he was forced to be a whore in Venice and everyone around him being oversexed… yeah… not a fun read for me.

It was kind of nice to get “The Consul’s” identity confirmed. It’s heavily inferred in the Cassie books, but I like actually knowing the names of characters.

Basically, if you’re super interested in how Mircea’s life went directly after his Change or are interested in how “The Consul” came to power, read this. If you’re not interested in either of those things, skip this.

Also, on a separate note, whoever edited the Wikia for this universe and put Masks at this point in the chronological reading order DOES NOT understand what chronological means. Or else I just don't understand why this one's at the point in the reading order... really seems like it should be muuuuch earlier.

A Family Affair by Karen Chance

A Spoiler Free Review

Originally Posted on GoodReads: 9-16-22

Novella Available on Karen Chance's Website

I honestly wish this one was part of the main series. It’s fairly quick but also sheds light on Pritkin’s personality and past. Cassanova and Rian were interesting to experience outside of Cassanova berating/complaining at Cassie. I actually quite like Rian for the short amount of time she’s “on stage” and hope she gets to interact outside Cassanova somewhere other than the demon realms. Cassie is also interesting to see from an outside perspective. Seems like she’s at least getting some training… or at least the training is mentioned a couple times in this.

I’m kind of starting to think Karen Chance works better in novella style stories rather than the apparently full-length ones. I say this because the through-line of the story isn’t chopped up or nearly as chaotic as the main books literally because it can’t be. The few shorter stories I’ve read from her just tend to flow a lot better, in my opinion.

Curse the Dawn by Karen Chance

A Spoiler Free Reread Review

I have said before that the Cassandra Palmer series is chaotic and that I really should brace myself for more oncoming chaos. Well, Curse the Dawn definitely ramps up the chaos. It honestly felt as though Karen Chance wanted to do a couple different stories and had to figure out how to put them all together rather than something cohesive. The main plot of the book is explained via info-dump at the end of the book... after a bunch of battles and body-swapping and general nonsense that kind of pays off in the end... I honestly have a hard time remembering everything now that I've finished Curse the Dawn.

I think one of the main issues is, as Cassie actually addresses with Mircea at one point, the fact that she has little to no information about anything. I get that she's one of the more vulnerable characters in terms of abilities and that everyone wants to protect her, but the lack of information and training she's given as a result of this is frustrating, to say the least. Take the body-swap between Cassie and Pritkin, for example. Even in Cassie's body, Pritkin is able to shield and fire off spells whereas Cassie is just doing the same things she always does: basically nothing. Sure, she gets in a few lucky shots at some of their pursuers, but that's only so long as she manages to keep her hands on a gun. After that, she's helpless. I find this incredibly annoying. I assume Cassie's had time to get in at least some physical training, if not magical, but apparently she hasn't been using her time wisely or it hasn't occurred to her to use her time in that manner. Just "Swim, read, maybe do a little shopping." Cassie, darling, you've been in combat situations for the last four books, maybe use some of that down time to train. You clearly need it and know you're going to need it. It's extremely frustrating that you're not doing it at this point.

I'm also vaguely frustrated by the "mistress" drama Cassie's internalized around Dorina... and then just decides not to ask Mircea about it when she has the chance. Of course, if you're specifically reading the <i>Cassandra Palmer</i> books and not the <i>Dorina Basarab</i> books, you don't know who the "mistress" is, but still... I hate this sort of thing. If ya'll would just TALK TO EACH OTHER, there would be less problems. But no, no one wants to actually talk about things unless they're apparently setting up traps or planning coups. Which reminds me, are either Cassie or Pritkin going to tell anyone about Jonas' "Pythia Recall Device?" I assume that's going to need to be explained at some point...

Which brings me to another frustration that also ties into my "Cassie is super untrained" issue. Mircea knows Cassie travels in time. He knows she gets randomly yanked through time and can't/doesn't really control when she gets back and yet... assigns a bodyguard who can't/won't be able to be with her on these sojourns and will thus be punished if anything happens to Cassie during those times. I do not like this. It makes Mircea seem cruel, which isn't really something we've seen him be on purpose at this point. Manipulative, yes, but not cruel. I really think he should maybe have Marco (said bodyguard) also made aware of Cassie's power yanking her off and, I dunno, also tasked Marco with TRAINING HER as opposed to what actually happens.

Well, now that I've ranted about what I disliked about this book... I liked the body-swapping thing. The story slowed down to basically a halt while Cassie and Pritkin dealt with that and met Jonas, but a breather was definitely needed. I guess the Three Dees were kind of fun. Nice to see a little representation. The part where Cassie, Pritkin, and Caleb go into MAGIC to rescue the prisoners was a highlight.

Uhm, yeah, Curse the Dawn was honestly a mess. It was one of those "let's just go from one crisis to the next with no clear endgame until five minutes before the endgame" kind of stories. I preferred it when that wasn't the case.

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

A Spoiler Free Review

Originally Posted on GoodReads: 9-11-22

This is one of those books that I personally came to through the movie adaptation. A rather excellent adaptation, in my opinion. It made me want to read the book, though not enough to pick it up right away. I was in my 20s. I’d been in Advanced Placement classes through Junior High and High School and Terabithia wasn’t on our reading lists. I was aware that other classes were reading it, but I never did. Until now. I’m 33.

Terabithia is definitely one of those Young Adult books that everyone can enjoy. The foreword even mentions handing it to a nine year old. Basically a prime example of that thing I keep saying about everyone being able to enjoy a book, not just the target audience.

I’m honestly not sure what I can say about Terabithia without straying into spoilers. It’s such a short book but also a really rich one. It captures that period of adolescence perfectly, in my opinion. I was definitely that artistic kid who made kingdoms in my grandparents backyard, and my own, but there’s just something about pine trees… I don’t know. Probably the reason the pines made up the Terabithian Sacred Grove.

I highly recommend picking up Bridge to Terabithia if you never have or haven’t read it in a while. It’s fantastic.

Movie Adaptation Review

Also Spoiler Free

So, I mentioned at the beginning of my book review that I originally came to Terabithia via the movie adaptation. I was in my early 20s and I was big into watching the newest Fantasy movies that came out... as soon as they hit the library because I had zero money at the time. Anyway, I'm definitely not gonna lie, this movie made me cry. The book just barely got there, mostly because I was remembering the scene from the movie. Go figure.

It's been years since I've watched Terabithia, but Josh Hutcherson and AnnaSophia Robb are still firmly Jess and Leslie in my head. Oh, and Bailee Madison as May Belle. She was just so cute. I can honestly say that the rest of the cast are just kind of faded in my brain. Well... I guess Zooey Deschanel stood out, but she's the big star of the time they got for the movie so... yeah. She's there and vaguely distracting.

Looking back on it, I do feel like Bridge to Terabithia as an adaption is really good. I know there was some issue over the fantasy elements being brought to life, but I felt like it actually melded seamlessly into the story. It was like we were seeing Leslie's words come to life, which I really enjoyed and thought were done really well. I remember feeling really immersed in the whole thing.

The big point for me with adaptations isn't necessarily that they capture every moment perfectly, but that they get the emotions and the themes right. Bridge to Terabithia definitely did that. I also feel like both book and movie are 99% timeless, ya know, if you ignore the references in the book and entire lack of cell phones. The school and forest settings really help with that.

Anyway, I loved the movie. It really captured the book. The kids were all pretty cute and pretty good actors. I really feel like Bridge to Terabithia was a good adaptation as well as a good movie. Highly recommend.

Darkest Powers Series Overview

Darkest Powers by Kelley Armstrong

A Probably Spoiler-Filled Overview

So, we're about to see what a series overview for a trilogy I did not enjoy looks like. I'm sure you're just as curious as I am. I'm also being very up front about this because, well, no real need to hide my distaste for this trilogy. I'm sure I didn't do so in my reviews, so why the heck would I do it here?

Anyway, let's talk Darkest Powers. I think the trilogy title makes this trilogy sound a lot more... hmm... grandiose than it is. And I do mean a LOT more. Darkest Powers is about a down-to-earth as a supernatural trilogy can be. It's so down-to-earth and moment-to-moment that I was bored through most of it. Armstrong can -- and has done -- better than this. Of course, she can also do a lot worse (see my review of Living with the Dead) so I guess that's something. But really, this almost blow-by-blow account of Chloe Saunders' adventure is quite boring. I will concede that it might be an age-gap issue, but, as I have previously stated elsewhere, adults should be able to enjoy books for younger audiences just as much as those younger audiences.

The Good

There were a few ties back to Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series that I largely enjoyed. Most of those having to do with mentions of the werewolf Pack. As Darkest Powers takes place in the same world, there is familiarity of place and the "normal" powers of the secondary characters.

I liked Tori's character arc. I've never had an issue with the popular girl who turns out to be more down-to-earth kind of thing. She did take a couple books to get there, but it was enjoyable. I think it definitely helps that she was getting away from a, uh, frankly crazy mother. Mrs. Enright has some SERIOUS issues that she throws onto Tori. I really hate her.

Simon was chill. Probably too chill, honestly, but I'm just glad he didn't get in on any of the toxic male behaviors he could have. I'm not exactly pleased that he and Derek thought Derek needed Simon's blessing to date Chloe, but that's really the worst thing about Simon.

The writing wasn't bad. Honestly, if it had been bad, I would have stopped after The Summoning. The writing itself is not the issue here.

The Rest

I have a very big issue with Chloe's characterization. At first, she was literally a blank slate. She even sticks a nice lampshade on it. Chloe starts to grow a spine as she's on the run with the others. Mainly in regards to Derek's constant put downs and Tori's apparent need to bicker at any given moment. However, that spine crumples in The Reckoning when Chloe realizes she's got a crush on Derek and not Simon. This coincides with her "lesson" with Margaret (who I hate, but we'll get to her). Tori does all the standing up for Chloe while Chloe just sits in the background feeling sorry for herself. Chloe does sort of get her spine back as she starts to actually explore what a relationship with Derek will look like and through the ending of the The Reckoning. She kind of becomes more secure in her powers, but also doesn't like using them in the ways she has to. I guess as a necromancer, that makes sense, but it's a tad annoying as she doesn't really have much of a choice. Anyway, I found this back and forth on Chloe's characterization annoying.

Derek and Chloe's relationship. Hmmm... it's toxic. It reminds me somewhat of Elena and Clay from Women of the Otherworld, only Derek and Chloe aren't anywhere near self-assured enough to be anything but toxic. Chloe kind of pushes back against Derek's overbearing thing but he doesn't really take it to heart. There are very few times (mostly those when Liam and Ramon are involved) when Derek's overbearing control thing is actually useful. And even then, Chloe just kind of runs off to do her own thing, manages to survive, and then gets yelled at by Derek because he didn't agree with her method of handling herself. Chloe then turns into a spiral of self-doubt because teenage girls gotta teenage girl and have their personalities tied into what the boyfriends think. This happens a few times in the trilogy and it just makes me want to smack Derek and send him off to the Pack to get some proper socialization.

Speaking of the Pack: I really hope Chloe and the gang end up meeting them at some point. I feel like Elena would get them in touch with The Interracial Council which I feel would really help them out. I have a feeling that most likely wouldn't happen, though, as Kit is probably really wary of anything having to do with Cabals... not without reason, really, but yeah. That's my wish for the ultimate fate of the "Genesis II" kids. Get in touch with the Pack and the Interracial Council. Probably actually help you out as opposed to just being on the run for the rest of your lives.

Hmmm... well, now I gotta talk about The Edison Group and the Former Edison Group. The Edison Group is really ridiculous in how they decided to handle their research/research subjects. It's like none of them have ever read any media involving people with powers. You don't EVER make them think they're mentally unstable, especially when it's very clear their powers went the opposite direction you wanted them to. The best way to improve their lives would be to teach them about their powers and teach them control of those powers so they don't end up outing your super-secret supernatural community on accident. But no, The Edison Group went the "we're going to straight up lie to you, medicate you, and when that fails, kill you." Just... it's really no wonder these kids, who are barely kids, straight up mistrusted everyone they came into contact with in The Edison Group and after. No one was truthful with them, so of course they're going to learn that none of you can be trusted. Heck, it took barely half a book for Andrew's little Former-Edison Group gang to be mistrusted. Honestly, if Andrew had been straight with the kids from the start, he probably wouldn't have ended up dead.

And that brings me to Margaret and Russell. Those two both really screwed the pooch and freaked the fuck out to a frankly crazy degree. Margaret, because she's Ms. Holier-Than-Thou-I-Know-Your-Powers-Better-Than-You and then gets shown that she definitely doesn't... like, clearly Chloe's not going to end up raising an entire cemetery unless some idiot (Margaret) pushes her past where she's comfortable. CLEARLY. But no, let's decide that Chloe -- and therefore Tori and Simon by extension -- need constant supervision otherwise they'll end up outing the supernaturals all on their lonesome. Which, by the way, Ms. Margaret, they hadn't until you showed up and started pushing Chloe. Oh, and it's a little hilarious to me how quickly Margaret ends up turning to murder after all her bitching about Chloe's powers. Excuse me, one does not just commit multiple murders and then get to stand on a pedestal. That's not how morality works. Russell... I don't really have much to say about him other than he's a bigoted idiot. Bigoted against werewolves to the point where he's willing to call in a hit on a teenage one who's done nothing but be overprotective of his own little pack. That's literally all Russell's seen. Well, I guess that and the other baby werewolves acting like heathens when they were much younger. Derek's a heck of a lot more well adjusted to human society than the other baby werewolves ever got the chance to be. Werewolf kids apparently need a much firmer hand than the one ya'll gave them in The Edison Group but they're not inherently bad.

The End

No, really, the ending of The Reckoning was fairly convenient. You've got the demi-demon Diriel somehow managing to bring the building down around their ears due to Chloe releasing her. I am aware that Diriel was whispering to Chloe during the first part of The Awakening buuuuut... I'm not sure what exactly about releasing her would rip open a tear to Hell. That is not explained at all and then she just gets dragged back to Hell by Unnamed Demon Dude. And then Derek and Liz and Kit show up out of basically nowhere. It took the kids several days via hitchhiking and bus to get to Andrew's and it suddenly takes less than a day to get back to The Edison Group's HQ? I realize the modes of transport are different, but the timing of the ending was just... well, it's the only point in which the timing is not meticulous and this bugs me. Everything just fell all at once and everyone had really good timing to get where they needed to be. Great.

In Conclusion

So, I know I've managed to talk about portions of the Darkest Powers trilogy a lot. Those were honestly the highlights. This trilogy reminded me a lot of the middle portion of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows with all the traveling and camping and NOTHING HAPPENING. Chloe and the gang spend a lot of time wandering around, trying not to get caught and then a lot of time wandering around a Victorian manor doing nothing. It's frustrating. I have a feeling I may have skimmed parts of The Reckoning because I was just so over it. I also feel like I would have a better stance on this trilogy if it had been presented in Omnibus form, but that might just be wishful thinking on my part.

It is kind of nice to see other sides to a world outside of the main series. There's bound to be stuff going on in the wider world that have zero bearing on the mains story's plot. I will say, if you liked Darkest Powers and haven't read Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld, you should definitely do so. It's a lot better than this.

The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong

A Spoiler Free Review

Originally Posted on GoodReads: 9-8-22

Well… Chloe’s backbone has morphed into some seriously toxic behaviors. First, the whole thing with Simon and Derek. Teen drama at it’s worst but also, Derek’s behavior is toxic. Chloe says he makes her feel stupid one minute and then the next he’s all concerned… run away from that, girl. Secondly, Chloe’s suddenly reluctant to share her feelings with Tori despite their new found friendship due to the apparently dubious respect she thinks she’s earned with the other girl. Look, I know teenagers are supposedly bags of hormones, but I have never read a teenager who’s as back-and-forth as Chloe. Just… this whole thing has me shaking my head and wanting out. Extremely happy this is the last book in the trilogy.

I really, really dislike Margaret. She does that thing of discounting what a child says because the child can’t possibly be telling the truth about their own abilities… Tori actually gives her a pretty good dressing down about that, but it’s still not okay. Doesn’t help that she immediately freaks out upon finding out what Chloe wasn’t lying. Of course, it turns out I was very right in my dislike of Margaret. Geeeez was I right.

I honestly do not enjoy this type of blow-by-blow writing. If something interesting was going on, sure, give me updates. But honestly, this entire series has been one long bore-fest. Not exactly enough to bore me to sleep, but NOTHING HAPPENS. Even when something interesting does happen, it’s over in a matter of pages and then it’s back to boring.

Also, low and behold, none of the adults in this trilogy think they should, I dunno, just talk to the kids. So of course the kids mistrust them. Of course they do. And then the adults are surprised when the kids first instinct is to run away from the liars. Surprise, surprise. Maybe shouldn’t have lied in the first place. The “kids” are 15-17-ish. Plenty old enough to understand the concepts that would be laid in front of them. Shutting them out at every turn DOES NOT HELP. And it’s super frustrating for the reader.

I really am not sure how I feel about how this trilogy ended, and it ended with a big ol’ bang and a ride off into the sunset. I would like to know more about the demi-demon I never mentioned in the last review. Just because she’s definitely got a story going on. I’m honestly happy to see the back of the rest of the characters. Derek needs to go at least meet the Pack, in my opinion. But yeah… the end seemed really crammed into the end of this book. A mostly boring book with a bam bam bam ending.

Pokemon Legends: Arceus

 My extremely hot take on the current latest Pokemon game.

👆 That was sarcastic. This game has been out for 8 months. I've been playing it off and on for those 8 months. It's fun. It scratches my completionist itch. It's infuriating. It takes up A LOT of time. It's honestly my favorite Pokemon game. And of course, because I'm an introvert loner with no friends who also play Pokemon games, I have no one to talk about this game with. I'm also... wary of message boards and chat rooms for actual discussion... so I'm just gonna use this post to talk about the game.

So first, a little of my gaming history. I had a Game Boy Color that I had to share with both my sisters. We somehow got ahold of Pokemon Gold. I was hooked. Cut to several years later and I acquired a Game Boy Advance SP and Pokemon Fire Red and then Pokemon Ruby. I was gifted a PlayStation and a copy of Final Fantasy VII by a friend. Still haven't beaten Sephiroth at the end, but as I no longer have either PlayStation or Final Fantasy VII... Yeah... not happening. My first purchase out of High School was a Nintendo DS Lite and Pokemon Pearl. There were a few Wii games here and there that I got really into, but I can't remember most of them at this point in time. I did complete both Lego Harry Potter games and a good portion of Lego Star Wars. I know I attempted to play Pokemon Soul Silver at come point, but I'm pretty sure I stalled right before the Elite Four. Next came Pokemon Sun and Ultra Moon, Pokemon Go, and Pokemon Shield. I have yet to actually finish a Pokedex without the help of cheat codes, which I only used on Pearl. Oh, and my boyfriend bought my Lego DC Supervillains and Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens or whatever that latest one before they shoved everything together was. Anyway, I am bound and determined to actually finish the Pokemon Legends: Arceus Pokedex... which is way harder than the others, let me just tell you...

So, for those of you who may not know, the Pokedex in Pokemon Legends: Arceus is not, as in previous iterations, just a list of your collected Pokemon and a little blurb about them. Oh no, for this one, you must complete tasks in order to finish your research. So. Many. Repetitive. Tasks. Evolve the Pokemon a certain number of times. Use this move a certain number of times. Give this Pokemon food a certain number of times. Catch this many of this Pokemon. On, and on. Now mind you, it's not the same tasks for every Pokemon and not even the same number, but it's still a lot. Completing this Pokedex scratches the completionist itch in my brain, and, ya know, serotonin happens. Gotta love that.

The story-line in Arceus is... well... I really just skipped through 99% of the dialogue so I'm not actually sure what the entire story-line is... which is typical for me, really. It's why I also enjoy Lego games so much. You can just skip the story bits and do the stuff! That's what I'm here for. Except, now that I'm done with the story-line, I have this last thing I have to do before ACTUALLY completing it... and the little guiding marker WILL NOT LET ME TURN IT OFF. Not really an issue most of the time, but it annoys me. Because of course, before the game will let you go catch Arceus, you have to complete the Pokedex. Like, complete it, complete it. Which takes time... and so many trips back to Jublife Village to reset the Pokemon in a particular region...

That's really my main issue with this Pokemon game. You have the ability to reset Pokemon encounters by returning to Jublife Village and then setting out again. That's great, except when you're working on the Tangrowth Pokedex page and you have to keep returning to Jublife Village in order to defeat the thing 10 times. I haven't found anywhere else Tangrowth shows up. There's only one of them in the wild in the game. It's an Alpha, so it doesn't re-spawn. So I go fight it, return to Jublife Village, go fight it again... over and over. And yes, there's other stuff I could do in the same area, but I don't want to forget what I'm actually working on so... annoying resets. Not that I don't also do things in the area, but that's not always the case so... It's also annoying that you can't travel from one area to another without returning to Jublife Village. I just want to skip over the Village and go from one area to another. I don't need to go to the Village for any other reason! Just... ugh, it's annoying.

It is really nice to not necessarily have to get into battle with every Pokemon you meet. You can just run past them if you're fast enough or on one of the mounts. If you want to catch a Pokemon that might kill you, you can crouch in some grass and just throw the Pokeballs from afar until you either catch the Pokemon or it notices you and attempts to kill you. But largely, you can just gallop past them on your mount. It's so nice. I kind of hate waiting for the battle stuff to load just so I can catch a Pokemon, like in the regular Pokemon games. You do have to do that every now and again. Not every Pokemon is gonna let you catch it before it notices you. You have to be careful, though, because you will get ganged up on and, unlike previous games, there's no such thing as multi-Pokemon battles... at least not for you. You can be trying to catch a group of Spiritomb, for example, and basically have to run yourself away from the battle because they've all noticed you at the same time and you didn't notice until AFTER you'd thrown out your partner Pokemon and they're basically taking potshots at it while your poor Pokemon helplessly twists from one to the next... that was frustrating. I hate swarms of Pokemon with no cover around.

Yeah, I'm equal parts loving and hating Pokemon Legends: Arceus. I've decided to work through my Pokedex chronologically, which is fun. The newest addition to the game is the Massive Mass Outbreaks, which is making filling out my Pokedex a little easier, actually. These things are basically groups of Pokemon that appear in the wild, but, unlike regular Outbreaks, it's multiple groups in one area rather than just one. You have the ability to find out which Pokemon are where so you can choose where you want to go in the given time frame. It's a lot more fun than having to wait for re-spawns and resetting the encounters through Jublife Village.

But yeah, this has been my Pokemon Legends: Arceus uh... review, I guess? I definitely was not as coherent in this as in my other reviews, but... that's what stream-of-consciousness blogging will get you. Also past midnight blogging... this will not be posted immediately, but that's when I'm writing this. So I'm gonna go to bed now and just kind of trail off here.

The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong

The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong
A Spoiler Free Review Originally Posted on GoodReads: 9-4-22

Chloe has managed to grow a spine in less than 24 hrs since coming into contact with the rest of The Edison Group. Still doesn’t have the slightest idea how to control her powers and doesn’t take any time to learn while locked up by The Edison Group. But hey, at least she has some personality now. I like how she is with Derek during his Change. None of The Pack does anything like what she does. Idk if they need it, but I liked that Chloe did it for Derek.

The Edison Group don’t make sense to me. It really seems like their plan is to raise kids who have been genetically altered to be normal by convincing them that they’re mentally ill… and if that doesn’t bring their powers under control, they kill them? And this to make the lives of Supernaturals better? Such. A. Stupid. Plan. It doesn’t make any sense. And those poor Werewolf kids they murdered… and the other kids, too, of course. So sad. The Edison Group is horrible and clearly misguided. Too many egos, as the mysterious demi-demon tells Chloe.

I am really not surprised there’s an anti-Edison Group/anti-Cabal organization that exists. Definitely not enough info on them yet for me to have an opinion, but yeah, not surprised at their existence.

Uhm… let’s see… the brief interaction Derek had with the rando werewolves was vaguely interesting. Could have gone very, very badly if they’d been smarter than they were. I was cackling a little a one point when Derek and Chloe were discussing Clay’s pictures. Because, ya know, they don’t know the truth but, assuming you read Women of the Otherworld like I did, you know the truth behind that. But really, this was the only noteworthy bit.

I found The Awakening to be extremely boring. It was like the middle part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Except there’s never any payoff. Chloe and the gang end up where they mean to and run into The Edison Group again. I’m not sure what’s coming in the next book, but at this point, it really feels like these books could have been combined into one.