Title: Hard Bitten
Average Customer Review:
Number of Comments: 1 Rating(s)   1 Review(s)

What?!?!

January 18, 2012
Reviewer: A reader from LOS ANGELES, CA USA

Now that I've had a good night's rest, some time to digest, read other people's thoughts, and the author's few statements, here is where I'm at...

Action = I'll read Drink Deep and decide whether I'll continue with the series or abandon it and pretend that the last 2 books didn't happen (ends for me at Twice Bitten).

Rant #2 = I'm a bit annoyed at some reviews where they call this move bold, gutsy and/or an action other authors would never risk. Really? What books have they been reading? <spoiler>I've read countless story lines where you are drawn to love a character, and within a few chapters, they're killed off. </spoiler> And if this is a taste of what's to come with her future books, I don't know if I can completely be on board if it's going to be one extreme cliffhanger ending after another. I can deal with minor ones like her previous books, but not what happened at the end of Hard Bitten.

Feelings = So overall I'm still very disappointed, yet a teeny bit hopeful b/c CN asks us to trust her. The book was enjoyable, I love the way she writes, and we see a lot of character growth (albeit one in particular did seem accelerated.)

I hope by the time I'm through with Drink Deep, it all becomes clear on why CN took it in the direction she did. My trust was hers by the end of Book 3, but it's been shaken.

____________________________________
(Review from 05/03/11 - spoilers now hidden by spoiler tags)
Major spoilers. Seriously, don't read if you don't want to know what the "shocking events" are.

So I finished the book, and I normally give myself a few hours or days to digest it and write a review. I obviously felt differently, and very strongly, for this particular book and decided to post my feelings immediately.

My mistake was only reading the reviews on sites I saw off of the author's webpage. Those reviews were positive and mentioned things like "a great ending" and "shocking event." I should have checked Goodreads as well. Honestly, the shocking event was TRULY shocking. I didn't think she'd go there, and, like another reviewer, I'm afraid of where this series is headed. <spoiler>Let me first say that I was about to cross this off of my "series I love" list altogether before the "shocking event" when Tate told Merit that Ethan and her father were in cahoots to turn her into a vamp. This reminded me too much of Sookie and Bill and his betrayal. Thank god you find out later that Ethan never took her father up on that offer. But when Ethan was killed off, that REALLY caught me off guard. I was so shocked and pissed that I skimmed the rest of the book hoping it was all a dream or a mistake. But nope, he's gone. </spoiler> There is nothing I detest more than cliffhanger endings. Those of you who disagree with this label, think of it as being/feeling incomplete. That's what Hard Bitten feels like for me. When Twice Bitten came out last year, I read it over and over again for months. It felt like a complete book, even though things weren't necessarily worked out. But this one, it feels incomplete. I don't want to pick up this effing book again.

So yeah, at least I know I'm not alone in my hatred for the ending. Maybe Drink Deep will make me feel better. But for now, I feel very unsure about this series overall.