How do you tell Satan that you ran over his hellhound? Evangeline Hollis has no idea and she doesn't want to find out. Living with the Mark of Cain—and the two sexy brothers who come with it—is trouble enough. She doesn't need to borrow more. Too bad Satan is too pissed to oblige her.
Incensed at the loss of his pet, Satan has put a bounty on Eve's head, and Hell's denizens are converging en masse. The proliferation of Infernals is complicating Eve's hunts and creating chaos in her once orderly life. They've also brought her to the attention of an overzealous reverend who is certain she's Jezebel reincarnate.
How can a Mark drafted by God strike a bargain with the Devil? Eve's about to find out...
Those who are familiar with these books know this is the 3rd, but not the last, in this incredible series by S.J. Day. And you also know that with this 3rd book came quite a cliffhanger, and while we know there will be more books, we don't know when we will get our fix, and the wait is incredibly excruciating!
I have to admit that much as I enjoy these books, I have a bit of a problem reviewing them. And I know I sound like a broken record, but I just want to stress that it's not because these are bad books, but rather I am so inarticulate at expressing all the yummy goodness of the Marked series. They are a guilty pleasure, like eating all the chocolates in a box of mint meltaways, only I didn't feel sick afterwards.
**Spoiler alert** As I've said, I really love these books, and think Eve totally rocks. Most of the time. But, well, with this last one, I had a problem with some of her actions. Now if you've read the books, you might know where I'm going with this. See, in books 1 & 2, she pretty much had a thing going on with Alec, yet she has this incredibly passionate and scorching attraction to Reed, which I couldn't fault her for one bit. Hell, the man is dark and intense and hot. Both Alec, who is Eve's first love, and Reed, who is obsessed with getting Eve in his bed, have strong feelings for Eve. Alec's are based on his love for her, while Reed's were initially based on his physical attraction, but have turned into something more complicated, and he's having a difficult time dealing with the warm and fuzzies.
So now she's sort of got this platonic thing going on with both Alec and Reed, though she's made no secret of her feelings for Alec. It's driving both men, especially Reed, crazy. He wants her like mad, and at times seems almost capable of just taking it without asking first. But he doesn't. So Eve struggles with this incredibly crazy situation she's got going on with both men. And then something happens with Alec that changes him, and at first he tries to resist it and hold onto Eve, but eventually he ends up pushing her away, and is rather cruel about it. She's devastated, and before you can say love triangle, she's hooking up with Reed, who doesn't care why she comes to him as long as it's her that makes the first move.
At this point, I'm okay with her turning to Reed, because it's obvious from the beginning that ending up in his bed was inevitable; there's too many feelings going on between them that it's impossible to ignore that it's just sex. Plus Alec is basically a bastard at this point, whether it's his fault or not, because he's got something evil inside him, and he basically treats her as a great lay that he's now bored with. Then there's the fact that Reed is not a bad guy, and she cares for him, so when she invites Reed into her bed, I was all "Finally".
But then things start to get a little dicey with her behavior, as least as far as I was concerned. Without giving away more than I already have, she starts figuring things out about what's happening with Alec, and also figures out some other things about Reed's agenda that have to do with Alec. She claims to still trust both men. But somewhere during this time she becomes rather wishy-washy, and almost cavalier with switching back & forth with her affections, and the guys easily accept her once again conflicted feelings, and her decision to go back to being platonic again. This drove me nuts! Up until this point I really liked Eve, and I still did when it came to her figuring things out, and her incredible courage when it came to dealing with Sammael a.k.a. Satan, but the whole emotional push-pull involving Reed and Alec really bothered me. She realizes that she loves two men. I guess I just found her attitude to be so out of sorts with her claim to be a one-man woman. So she goes from Alec, who pushes her away, to Reed, who rocks her world. Then she realizes that Alec is not himself, and he's not entirely to blame for it, so she turns to him again, almost like she wants to make up with him, and Reed feels left out in the cold, but that's when she tells him she's falling for him too. It's like watching a tennis match with all the back and forth.
Eve's got a long way to go with her training, and everything's been pretty messed up with her taking assignments before even going through training, and the Novium coming on way sooner than it was supposed to. Plus there's some interesting characters from Alec's past, and the whole thing with Satan and Alec's mother. Many unanswered questions Then there's the cliffhanger, and I'm like WTF? Srsly? There is too much unresolved for me to believe anyone's ready for this next step. Yet at the same time I'm hoping it doesn't take 10 books to be resolved.
So don't get me wrong, I do love these books. I do, I do. I'm just frustrated with this last installment and how Eve acted with Alec & Reed. One of the things I most admire about her is that she genuinely tried to not hurt anyone, which in pretty impossible to do here, but then about 3/4 or 7/8 of the way through the book, I lost some of my respect for her. I've gone back to re-read it and still it irks me. I think I might eventually do a much later re-read at some point in anticipation of the next book, but also to see if I've been able to make peace with my unrest here. God that sounds so dramatic *g*, but it was what I felt at the time. Now I'm just going to let it go and dwell on the things I did like. Until next time....
But really, do you think I'm crazy? Were you able to accept how Eve was towards the end of this third book? Is it just me?
Rating: **** out of *****
Labels: S.J. Day
posted by Stacy~ at 8/03/2009 06:41:00 AM
I love this series. No seriously, I adore it.
byYou know, I had no problem with Eve's actions in the story. Alec made his choice and she'd been screwed by him before. And well, I thought she was smart to be suspicious of Reed's actions.
But yes, I have a feeling that there will be a legion of fans who will end up being pissed no matter how she ends the series.
You know her, don't you Stace? Do you have any idea when the next book is out? I'm beside myself waiting!
Hi Stacy:
byThank you for the comprehensive review!!
I've read so much about this author but haven't had time to get to this series - I know back of the bus as always. lol
It is frustrating when a series book is a little disappointing when you are a faithful follower though!
Thank you for sharing!
L
I read it with one eye open because I haven't read Chaos yet. Not sure what is taking me so long. I loved the second one.
byI haven't read this series yet. Do you have to read the books in order and if so, what is the order?
byI neeeeedd to read this book! I've only read the first book in this series. I'm slowly catching up.
byStacy, much as I adore your review I had to put my hands over my eyes and not look as I haven't read the first two books....but now I can! *massive happy dance*
byA wonderfully lovely person has sent me Eve of Darkness...it's at home in all it's pretty glory waiting for me to finish The Mirador (which is also amazing :)
Kati, I've asked but haven't heard back. I'm just as anxious as you, believe me!
byLea, I think it's when a character is known to me to be a certain way and they changes that I get irriated. True, as people we're not perfect, but the characters in our books should be LOL. It won't stop me from wanting more books though.
Mandi, I can't wait to hear what you think. I loved your reviews of the other 2.
Liza, yes, I would say you definitely need to read them in order to make sense of it all.
Donna I know what you mean. I'm way behind on so many series it's not even funny.
Orannia, I don't mind. I totally understand cuz I do the same thing. Let me know when you do read them :)