A Spoopy Love Affair With Books

So, this is the last book in my SUMMER OF ROMANCE, and it was a good one, a satisfying end to an enjoyable experience.

This is the fifth book in the Demonica series, which is as far as I got in the Southern Vampire Mysteries, but this is without competition a more engaging, fun series, for me at least. This book takes off where Ecstasy Unveiled left off, the two books fairly intertwined, setting up not only the romance for this installment, but also expanding on, and centering on, the warg plague that Sin set loose in the last novel, which then sneaks its way into the next book/tie-in series, the Lords of Deliverance novel Eternal Rider.

I felt like the humor was out in full force for the first time since the first novel, willing to be not just cheeky, but a bit silly, too, in a gleeful sort of way. The story was engaging, and Sin, who originally grated on my nerves, really grew on me.

So why only three and a half stars? Well, I didn't really like Con. He was okay, but I wasn't feeling the romance as much as I should have done. I would have actually preferred it if it had just been Sin and her brothers. I loved Luc and Kar, and was sort of shocked that they weren't the main romantic couple. They were where my interest was at, and I had scoured the future books to see if Luc had had his own (upset when I saw he hadn't, relieved when I read his subplot here, and then a bit peeved that they were only, like, ten percent of this novel. Sighs.)

This book also felt like a wrapping up, and a new beginning. I have no idea if I'll be starting the Lords of Deliverance in the future, so I was happy that Ione not only used it as a springboard for the other series, but gave this book a nice wrap-up for this series, the story arcs for the first five books. Though the characters at the forefront of the novel weren't by any stretch my favorites, this was probably my favorite book since the first, story-wise, humor and writing. But it lost a star and a half for a rushed last act and the horrendous 'hurting your lover to save them pain' trope. A strong book, and enjoyable read.