3.5

We continue the adventures of Connor and Grace, Connor on the pirate ship Diablo and Grace with the Vampirates, who are off to Sanctuary to try and find some healing for Lorcan.

Like the second book, this one took awhile to really get started - I'd say it was a little more than halfway by the time things picked up. This wouldn't be so bad, as it's, in a way, a character based book, and I do like spending time with the characters - even when they do stupid and irritating things - but I felt that the parts with Connor, in particular, were rather repetitive and slow to develop.

I'm still not really sure what I think of Connor. He seems a nice enough lad, but his loyalties seem to shift with the wind. Of course, I'm not sure what I think of Cheng Li, either. Is she sincere in her beliefs and her desire to help, or is she manipulating Connor? Time will tell, I suppose.

As for Grace's side of things, while I enjoyed this part more, I also found it a bit more predictable. Once again there are rebellions and betrayals, but you sort of know who's going to turn from the moment they are introduced. It's rather obvious who's going to go bad - and sometimes I want to shake Grace for being so trusting. I mean, she's meant to be empathetic and understand people, but she keeps getting blindsided by people the audience knows are no good.

But, then, I suppose that's part of her compassionate nature - seeing, or at least hoping for, the best in people.


Anyway - aside from being slow to start, I was also irritated that it ended rather abruptly. Not quite a cliffhanger ending - but nothing was really resolved. We're left with new questions and threads which dangle into the next story (which I'm told picks up immediately from where 3 leaves off, so at least it shouldn't have the slow start that books 2 and 3 suffered from).

There are some things that I enjoy the slow unfolding for - but there are times where I feel that people are holding back for the sake of just dragging out the story and making it "more dramatic". Hopefully at least some of these threads are untangled by the end of the next book, or I might begin to get seriously annoyed.

Still, even if this is my least favorite of the series, so far, I still enjoyed it and it still has the ability to make me want to pick the book back up, and look forward to those moments when I can - and that's always a lovely feeling.

Even when I'm a bit frustrated with the plotting or the characters, I do, ultimately, like the characters, especially Grace and Lorcan, and look forward to continuing their story.


***

ETA: There was one mystery solved in this book (though it may have been stated in the first book and I just missed it).

I had been wondering what time period these were set in. We have the romanticized notion of pirates, sailing around on wooden ships and having pirate bars and whatnot... but we also have modern references to technology and other things.

Then it was mentioned: Two thousand, five hundred and twelve.

So, apparently, this is meant to take place in the future... which sort of explains, in some ways, I guess, how you get the mixture of old and new - one must assume that, somewhere along the line, the romanticized notion of old piracy took hold and became a thing.

But we're also left with a world which, technologically and socially speaking, hasn't really advanced at all in 500 years. Many of the references to technology (games/movies/slang) are thoroughly present day. There's nothing which feels futuristic at all...

So, um, some sort of post dystopian thing, or something?

I admit, that's one aspect of the story I try not to think too much about, because it doesn't' really seem fully fleshed out. I wonder if it will become relevant, though.

and again... AMazing

a little too much pirate and not enough vampirate.

Grace takes Lorcan to a mountain-top healing Sanctuary. The Sanctuary is a rehab of sorts for Vampires, to help them break from the typical cycle of hunting and feeding and overindulging, to adjust to a once a week feast.

Connor undergoes a crisis of faith in his path as a pirate after his first kill.

The Sanctuary was very interesting to read about.

Couldn't stand the bad writing anymore.

I loved the series, the plot and the characters. And uuuh, romance.
Still not sure why these book where never made into a series, there is literally so much potential here.

What a great addition to the series. I really feel like the author put a lot of effort into this book. There were many important lessons and powerful themes so if you've been reading this series then I don't think you will be disappointed. The dialogue is a little bit lacking though, but otherwise, fantastic work.

This was a fun and interesting book to read, but it was a bit predictable.

I had a hard time putting this one down, honestly. The storyline definitely unfolds more, and once you've started reading it unfolds rather quickly.
The ending was unsatisfactory, because of the cliffhanger-esque ending. Very much ready to read the 4th book.

The one thing that really keeps me from giving it 5 stars is that the setting keeps getting lost to me.

We're supposed to be 500 years in the future, but it really feels like it's set in the 1700-1800's. Yes, there are nods here and there to modern things and culture, but that gets lost in the "old world" piracy.

I love the story, though. That's what's kept me hooked in. :)