Series: Jane True #6
Source: purchased
Release Date: May 28, 2013
Challenges: Finishing the Series | What An Animal
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Blurb from goodreads:
Anyan may be trapped in an evil dragon and Blondie may be gone, but Jane knows one thing: she's not about to give up. She's ready to tear down heaven and earth to save her lover, despite those who believe he's lost.
Luckily for Jane, those who've given up on Anyan do not include those closest to her. Defying The Powers That Be, Jane and Company form their own crack squad of misfits, in whose hands the fate of the world may well rest.
With a little help from her friends, the Universe, and lots of snacks, Jane embarks on her greatest adventure yet, confident that with great sacrifice comes great reward. The question is, who will be that sacrifice?
Oh, I wanted to read this and I didn't. Since it was the last book in the series, I held off because I pretend the series wasn't done if I didn't read but the preceding book ended on such a cliffhanger I had to know how things turned out. I expected that Peeler would manage some sort of happy ending, I really hoped she would, but I was afraid of what might happen on the way there.
Well, I got my happy ending but oy. Peeler went overboard, complete with a sappy, cutesy, unnecessary epilogue (I'm not a big fan of epilogues in general). Over the top, sappy, everyone's happy and in love and there are babies by the ton. Okay, that last is a mild exaggeration. I wanted an HEA, I got an HEA, but I wish Peeler had reined it in a bit. Actually, there was one fly in the ointment, the most realistic part of the HEA, but even that gets a sappy, and unrealistic, resolution.
I'm getting ahead of myself. The rest of the story was good, but not wonderful. There's death, grief, destruction, snarky humor, dancing, history, science, and love. Lots of love - romantic love, familial love, love of friends, love of county, etc. Bring on the love. :D Parts of the story, mostly having to with alchemy, found my eyes glazing over more than a few times. Peeler tried a little too hard to make it literary, but she was creative and it fit with the overall story line. We also get a LOT of philosophical and some theological discussion. It was a bit much at times and a bit heavier than normal for the series. There is lots of action also, and some hot lovin, so the pace varied from busy to slow back to busy back to slow and so on. It was an odd mix at times, and the pacing did suffer for it. Additionally, it felt at times as if the creature (see earlier books) made things too easy for Jane even when she was preparing Jane for bigger and more challenging things. I liked the creature though, her compassion, her generosity, and her wisdom.
It felt as if Peeler was trying for a grand ending and overreached, but I give her points for her ambition. The series had clearly been leading up to this and I love when a series makes sense and has a destination. I'm sorry to see the series end but there have been a few short stories written since this came out and now I can read them. "Tempest Reborn" does live up to its title as Jane is reborn in several ways. You do need to read the preceding books; this does NOT work as a stand-alone. While not a great ending to the series, it does tie up all the threads and give us a concrete resolution.
Sounds like a great series! When I first looked ta the cover I'd guessed it was MG though! lol
ReplyDeleteThe covers for this series are quite cartoony, a little bit too much given the events in the stories.
DeleteI've been good this month (so far)... hahaha! That's so ridiculous to say when it's only the 3rd!
ReplyDeleteShoot, when will I find the time to pop this cherry?!
I soooo need to get back to this series. I always have a great laugh and enjoy her books. I know you said it's overboard, but I'm looking forward to it. :)
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed books 1-3 of the series but by book 4 or 5 it started getting weird and felt like a different series altogether. I almost didn't read this one but pushed through the audio and had meh feelings about it. Which is a shame since they changed narrators for the last two books and she is a favorite of mine.
ReplyDeleteI think what really got me about the series is all the build up to the HEA or "the sex" that I didn't care anymore when it finally happened. I mean Peeler used EVERYTHING under the sun to keep them from getting together that it was just a joke.
Yeah, the coitus interruptus got to be ridiculous. She definitely went overboard. The series did get darker with the last few books though it always had a dark side.
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