The Reckoning (Darkest Powers #3)
by Kelley Armstrong
Date: 2010
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Reading level: YA
Book type: prose novel
Pages: 391
Format: paperback
Source: Indigo
Chloe Saunders is fifteen and would love to be normal. Unfortunately, Chloe happens to be a genetically engineered necromancer who can raise the dead without even trying. She and her equally gifted (or should that be 'cursed'?) friends are now running for their lives from the evil corporation that created them.
As if that's not enough, Chloe is struggling with her feelings for Simon, a sweet-tempered sorcerer, and his brother Derek, a not so sweet-tempered werewolf. And she has a horrible feeling she's leaning towards the werewolf...
Definitely not normal.
(synopsis from Goodreads)
I'm at a loss as to how to review this book without revealing a major spoiler. I don't think it's possible to review it at all otherwise, so here goes:
SPOILERS AHEAD! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!
I did not really like this third instalment of the Darkest Powers trilogy. Why? Because, after nearly 400 pages, the situation the kids found themselves in was not much different than the situation they were in at the end of The Awakening. They're still on the run and in hiding, only now it's from a different group of villains. Character development didn't go anywhere (except for some tantalizing hints about Derek that weren't taken further; I would have much rather read a story about him than about the one-dimensional Chloe Saunders). It appears that the author intends to tie this trilogy with another one (the Darkness Rising trilogy, which starts with The Gathering), which is one of the reasons given for the ambiguous ending of The Reckoning. I'm sorry, but I don't like that at all. It's a cop-out. I don't want to have to read another whole trilogy just to get some resolution for this one! A trilogy should be self-contained.
If you're interested in reading the second trilogy, you might like this book, but I've had enough of the boring plot line ("evil scientist dudes want to kill supernatural kids"). I'm done with this trilogy, and I think I'm done with this author, too.
Plot: 3/5
Characters: 3/5
Pace: 3/5
Writing: 3/5
Editing: 3/5
Originality: 3/5
Enjoyment: 3/5
Overall: 3 out of 5
I remember being frustrated with the last installment as well. Although I enjoyed the series, I ended up thinking nothing happened and I got NO answers. I'm not going to read the next series though I liked the author. I just don't like being forced to read books. A book should stand alone on its own and I don't want to read the next book just to get some closure.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't pleased with how this trilogy ended either. What annoys me more than the five minutes we get of Chloe & Derek being together is that secret that was exposed about Simon and Tori. I thought it was AWESOME but where does it go? Nowhere. I haven't picked up the other series either and I don't think I'm going to :/
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