Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A Lackluster Afterlife, March 10, 2011
This review is from: Afterlife: An Evernight Novel (Hardcover)
Claudia Gray is tying up all the loose ends in the conclusion to her Evernight series. The book picks up as Lucas is about to rise from his first death to start his second life as a vampire. Lucas' internal struggle with becoming the very thing he was taught to hate, isn't his only battle. Now he has to fight the hunger. And live with the stigma of Black Cross among his previous prey. Bianca is still learning what it means to be a wraith, along with her own issues about being dead. Lucas, Bianca, and our favorite side kicks all journey back to Evernight. Along the way Lucas will face his mom, we find out exactly what Mrs. Bethany is up to with all those ghosts and if love really can transcend all obstacles.
The highlight of Afterlife was the supporting cast. Vic and Ranulf stole the show. Ranulf's backwards old english translations never failed to make me laugh. Patrice, Dana, and Raquel also join the mix and proved what real friendship truly is. There are some tough family issues as well. The overall message is what are the limits of love. Gray explores quite a few variations within different relationships.
Some low points. Unfortunately I can't say the highlight was the love story. The romance is why I read and followed the series. But they were more like an old married couple than star crossed teenage lovers. Bianca's constant repetitive blaming of Lucas' undead state on Balthazar. I can understand why she's upset, I just wish every time Bianca complained about it that it would be phrased differently. It was worded exactly the same each time. And became redundant. Unfortunately she harped on it a lot. I also didn't care for the end. It was neat and tidy, all my favorite people lived, but I found to be a bit of a let down. It was safe. Sweet. Tame. Normally I don't like tragedies, but Afterlife needed something messy and imperfect. It needed something more profound. Even though Bianca and Lucas were going in opposite directions individually their relationship seem to be working just fine. Almost like they had worked though all the major obstacles in the previous books. Afterlife was really focused on their separate struggles, when readers like me are more interested in their couple troubles. I guess it needed more angst. Maybe the ending would have sat with me better if there was more drama in their relationship during the book.
Afterlife was OK. It was entertaining. But it didn't move me as much as some of the other books in the series. The romance was lackluster, anticlimactic. The end was sufficient but nothing I'm going to swoon over. I think it's a toss up either your going to love it, or feel stood up. The best part of the ending for me was the full page announcement of a spin off featuring Balthazar.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
This Series Just Keeps Getting Cheesier, March 20, 2011
This review is from: Afterlife: An Evernight Novel (Hardcover)
Oh my goodness, the sappiness and cheesiness that comprise these books! They have always been this way, but I think they have been getting worse as they have gone along. I laughed out loud several times at the 'romantic' scenes. Are you wondering, why does she keep reading the Evernight series if she thinks it's so bad? Well, I really can't say. Once I read the first two books in a series, I generally feel compelled to finish (although I gave up on the House of Night books by the Casts). Besides that, my only other reason is that I make bad choices sometimes.
Okay, so I'm assuming that if you're reading this review, you either have already read the previous books and are acquainted with the plot or that you have no intention of ever reading them, so don't care about spoilers. At the opening of the novel, Bianca and Lucas are both dead; she's a wraith and he's a vampire. But (big surprise) being dead cannot stop their love (seriously, I'm so moved), as they keep reminding one another every three pages.
Of course, maybe they don't love each other as much in this situation. There is that human girl that Lucas befriended. Could just be me, but, had events transpired differently, I could imagine them getting along really well, if you catch my drift. Besides, Bianca said this: "It wasn't that I loved him any less for being dead--how could I?--but I knew that his life was something I loved about Lucas, and it was gone" (89). Really? I'm buying it. You don't love him less; you just loved him more before. That makes perfect sense. This is true love that lasts forever folks.
Best moment of the book, in my humble opinion, resulted from some poor editing. The final chapter begins with this awesome sentence: "I flashed myself to the small group of people huddled around Lucas's fallen form" (231). I assume that this is supposed to refer to some form of ghostly transportation method. However, what it actually says is that Bianca took off her ghostly jammies and gave everyone a little peek after the big battle. How awesome is that? This book needs better editing.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Read the first 2--maybe the third, then stop, October 9, 2011
This review is from: Afterlife: An Evernight Novel (Hardcover)
I enjoyed the first book very much. The second was ok and the third began to drag on. At this point I no longer care about the characters. It's sad but the story should have been wrapped up while it was still smoking. If the author couldn't do that then while it was still steaming? Now it's gone cold. Save your money. Even if it's free at this point I'm not interested. Sorry.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
