While the third and final installment of series still remains good and basically true to itself, it's let go of some of it's steam.
The story continues where the second ended, where the entire book is spent preparing for the big showdown at the end. There is no mystery and very little suspense. The training scenes and discovery of powers were interesting, and you can certainly see what Cesca has evolved as a character, coming more at peace with embracing her vampire abilities.
The Voids inhabitation of paranormal creatures starts appearing a bit inconsistent. Saber is infected but while you could tell at the end of the second, and briefly sometimes here, it seems to fade from him most of the time and doesn't seem terribly pressing. The same can be said for Triton besides one minor scene. From the stories it appeared to affect others more. Perhaps since Saber and Triton aren't vamps, this is the reason.
Besides becoming more at peace with herself, Cesca is basically the same, although snarkier, which became annoying sometimes. Here she's serious, a little moodier (guessing stress of this kind will do that to ya!), but it's too peachy keen between her and everyone else to keep things as fresh. Saber is still hot but not as dazzling, I think because now he is all about being the perfect mate, bed partner, and his actions are predictable where Cesca is concerned. Some friction between them sometimes would have been welcome to create more drama in her personal life. Instead everyone just gets along wonderfully in all situations...even the Covenant is on her side now. There is no longer antagonism from most vamps. Basically, this book is missing a lot of the turmoil that made it so interesting in earlier novels.
Haddock writes with a talented hand, her style easy to follow and lose yourself in. There's still cute humor, great writing, and ease of pace. Not as much humor in this one anymore though, and I missed that dearly from the others. Sex is still a bit too heavy and unrealistic, but there is still a main story that the author focuses on, keeping this one enjoyable.
I missed the quirkiness and devout humor of the previous books. There's still a few chuckling areas, but they sadly don't match the tone of the previous two. Still, it's a good ending to the series, everything is resolved well, there's a few new characters who provide ample charm, and the ending is deliciously happily ever after.
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