So, here's my review...nothing really spoilerish. I think that my brain has been overloaded by the events of CV 4, and when you add the exhaustion of staying up literally all night to read and finish the book, I can't formulate any serious or deep thoughts. I'm definitely going to have to re-read Hard Bitten once my brain stops freaking out from information overload and shock. Basically all of that rambling means that a more detailed review is still to come.
So, I finished Hard Bitten almost 2 hours ago, and I'm still not quite sure what to say in this review. I think I'm still in shock...so no real spoilers here (but read at your own risk):
I did give this book 5 stars. I think that CN is a wonderful writer and a fantastic storyteller. She is one of a very few authors whose pacing is spot on (in my opinion). There is a lot of action that happens in this book, and I thought that the pacing was perfect. One of my biggest pet peeves is when events happen too fast to be realistic; but everything felt really natural in this book. I loved the whole suspenseful who-dun-it theme! It really added an extra umph to the plot! Merit kicks some serious ass in a variety of ways and settings!
The chemistry between Merit and Ethan TB post-break up was great; I loved watching Ethan change a little bit while still maintaining his essential Ethan-ness. Again, everything is very realistic; I really appreciate the normalcy in a supernatural setting.
Overall, in my opinion, this book is a great addition to the series. I think that it's a shame that people are letting the ending (aka the last 10 pages or so) color their entire opinion of the book. Don't get me wrong, I am just as angry/shocked/upset as everyone else about the ending...I'll admit it, I totally cried (it was worse HP6), but considering the book overall, it was fantastic plot-wise, character-wise, and emotionally it really hit me home hard!
I am extremely interested to see how CN deals with everything in Drink Deep. But I am definitely still processing everything that's happened. All I can say is, congratulations CN...you have officially joined the very small group of authors who have managed to completely shock and stun me. I totally didn't see it coming. That doesn't happen very often, so kudos.
