Reckoning: A Strange Angels Novel [Paperback]

Lili St. Crow (Author)

Book Description

Release date: November 1, 2011 | Series: Strange Angels (Book 5)

The electric finale in "New York Times" bestselling author Lili St. Crow's Strange Angels series!
Nobody expected Dru Anderson to survive this long. Not Graves. Not Christophe. Not even Dru. She's battled killer zombies, jealous "djamphirs," and bloodthirsty suckers straight out of her worst nightmares. But now that Dru has bloomed into a full-fledged "svetocha" - rare, beautiful, and toxic to all vampires - the worst is yet to come.
Because getting out alive is going to cost more than she's ever imagined. And in the end, is survival really worth the sacrifice?
DRU ANDERSON'S NOT AFRAID OF THE DARK.
BUT SHE SHOULD BE.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Powerful and dramatic stuff' Bliss. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Lili Saintcrow was born in New Mexico, bounced around the world as an Air Force brat, and fell in love with writing when she was ten years old. Lili lives in Vancouver, WA with her children, a houseful of cats, and assorted other strays.

Product Details

• Age Range: 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Razorbill; Original edition (November 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9781595143952
• ISBN-13: 978-1595143952
• ASIN: 1595143955
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.9 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #39,568 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lili St. Crow is the YA pen name for Lilith Saintcrow. Lili lives in Vancouver, WA, with children, cats, a dog, and a host of other strays. You can find her at http://www.lilistcrow.com.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Short on Resolution ... November 1, 2011

By Adrianne

Format:Paperback

If you've read the other four books in the series you know the drill -- Dru basically just wants to be left to her own devices. She wants the Order to stop pressuring her, the vampires to stop gunning for her, Graves to make his move, and Christophe to - well, she's not sure what she wants from Christophe.

In some ways this book delivers. We get an action packed boss battle with Sergej. We get those feelings between Dru and Graves out there on the table. We find out if Christophe really cares for Dru, or if he's got ulterior motives.

Still, in the end this book is something of a let down. It's not that I can't believe it's all over, I just can't believe there's not more. Too many things were left unresolved. I actually looked for a post-epilogue after the epilogue. I was that desperate.

If this was just another installment in the series I'd give it a solid four-star rating and I'd be looking forward to the next book. Only there is no next book. I enjoyed the book while I was reading it, but I'm disappointed with the lack of an ending.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars It ends more with a slap than a bang..but still worth the read November 2, 2011

By T. Sheppard

Format:Paperback

From the very beginning I have pretty much loved this series, so there was a lot of anticipation hanging over this book for me since it's supposed to be the last book in the Strange Angels series.
So, if you've been following along you know Dru has officially bloomed into being a Svotchka, and has (finally) developed all the power and the beauty that she seemed on the cusp of in the previous books.
Having just busted Graves out of Sergej's, They are both on the run with Ash and heading to the one place Dru ever felt safe so that they can all recoup and regroup before Sergej finds them. Which of course is sooner rather than later.

We get plenty of action leading up to and including when Dru finally has her showdown with Sergej and gets to avenge her mother, father and everyone/everything he's taken from her.
And, I'll give Lili St. Crow well earned props. The battle is epic and it is good. There is no let down in how it all shakes down and out, and for that I am pleased.
As for that triangle?
Graves and Dru finally get honest with each other and lay it all on the table with each other.
Graves is easily one of the most compelling characters in this series for me, and I like how he handles himself, and whether he's broken or not. Graves has real heart.
And we finally find out what's the whole story with Christophe. Does have nefarious purposes? Is he being honest with Dru and can she depend on him when she needs to?

But where this book lost a star from me (it almost lost two) was in the slap-you-in-the-face lack-of-resolution at the end.
This book absolutely does not read like the final installment in a series. After I finished it I actually had to go back and reread the last few chapters to make sure I didnt miss anything, and my response was a loud "What the hell kind of ending is that?"
It would have been a five bell ringer for me otherwise.

As a character, I am and have been pretty damn fond of Dru. She's handled everything that's been thrown at her with a maturity that belies her age, exhibited heart wrenching loyalty and a surprising lack of selfishness when it comes the people she cares about...until that last damn chapter.
For me it completely took away from that highly anticipated, wretchedly perfect, heartbreakingly awesome exchange two chapters earlier.
It hurt my heart.

Like another reviewer I was thinking there had to be another epilogue..I mean you cant just leave it like that!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Ugh, My Brain is Fried November 23, 2011

By Sarah Marie

Format:Paperback

Mild Spoilers.

It took me a whole week to finish reading Reckoning because it was so hard to get hooked into. It's not that the plot isn't interesting; it is: Dru on the run, fighting off suckers left and right, things blowing up, tons of fighting and action, Christophe and Graves, 'nuff said. But, it's just so anticlimatic. I feel like Ms. St. Crow's southern-flared style of writing doesn't coalesce quite well with all the butt-kicking and it sort of washes out the action, if you know what I mean. Which by the way, I can't be the only one who gets driven mad by her style of writing. It's pretty much incomprehensible most of the time. The way she describes things that are happening makes you want to ask "WHAT'S HAPPENING?!" It's completely mind-blowing. Sometimes she never fully describes how something happens and then later she'll bring it up and say something happened that you didn't know happened. For example: Dru was fighting suckers and she was trying to tell Ash to go find Graves, but he was hesitant to leave her. In order to make him obey she had to do something specific, but you're not really told what. All it says is that she felt the "touch" in her mind, like always, and then Ash yelped and ran off to find Graves... I read that part over like three times before I just moved on. Then later Dru says something about being able to use the "touch" to make Ash obey and all I thought was "Oh, is that what happened? How was I supposed to know that? Her "touch" is ALWAYS flexing and reaching and whatever else, how was I supposed to know that time was any different?" Anyway, a lot of the book is like that, and most of the time there are no explanations, later on or otherwise.

So, it's either that, or I'm just fed up with Dru's inner-monologue. It grates on my brain like glass on a chalkboard. It's the same crap EVERY TIME! She misses her dad and gran and is always imagining things they would do or say if they were still with her, she's sad because her life is a total abysmal wreck and she keeps ruining it worse and worse, she's always hurting and exhausted "to the core", she's always got something lodged in her throat and needs to swallow, and she's pretty much in a continuous state of weeping throughout the entire book. Blah Blah Blah, right? I'm tired of her stupid stretching "touch", and her mother's hot-cold locket, and her citrusy-flavored tongue. All of which are unexplained, by the way. And what's up with her attitude? Christophe nearly dies multiple times for her and in the end she tells him he's creepy and old? Graves almost dies for her once, sells her out multiple other times, and then she cries because he doesn't want to be her boyfriend? FOR-EFFING-REAL?! I just... I can't.

Anyway, if you're anything like me, you hate to see a series end. I've been devastated at times to have to say goodbye to some of my favorite characters; however, that is not the case with Strange Angels. I don't think it's because I don't care - although I was quite relieved to see the last page - but more that I don't really believe it's ending, because that was not an ending. Reckoning's "ending" involves the introduction of a new race of people with more information on who Dru really is, someone leaving but promising to come back, people still missing, problems still needing to be solved, and Dru still not knowing what she wants (Really? that's the type of thing you do at the beginning of a series. By the time it ends you should have gone through some sort of self-discovery or period of enlightenment and decided what, and who, you want.) Which, by the way, "What does Dru stand for anyway?"... "I'll tell you when you come back." WHAT?! Not an ending. Especially that Epilogue. That was the most irrelevant Epilogue I have ever read. Mark my words: It is not finished.

If this truly is the end, and you haven't started the series yet, DON'T! This "ending" is too dissapointing to bother reading through the whole series. If you've started it, you might as well finish, but don't expect any feelings of satisfaction and resolve.