albishka_2's review
5.0
it's a brilliant book. I'll be sort of missing Lon and his son Jupe. Cady is so lucky to have them in the first place.
marineb09's review against another edition
5.0
So glad I have this series with me now yet so sad ti see it ending ... I wish there were more books I don't know if I will be string enough to say Goodbye ahahah
Action packed : check
badass MC : Check
Slow burn romance with funny twist : Check
believable love story : Check
Lovable family dynamic : Check
Magic and demons : Check
Awesome writing : CHECK CHECK CHECK
I just can't get enough of Jenn Bennett <3
Action packed : check
badass MC : Check
Slow burn romance with funny twist : Check
believable love story : Check
Lovable family dynamic : Check
Magic and demons : Check
Awesome writing : CHECK CHECK CHECK
I just can't get enough of Jenn Bennett <3
chllybrd's review
4.0
If you are anything like me you were DYING to read BANISHING THE DARK after the cliffhanger ending in BINDING THE SHADOWS. I really enjoyed some of the twists thrown into the final book of the series and I also loves reading Jupe's POV.
This series was everything I hoped for and more than I expected. Nothing is left unsaid, nothing is left hanging, and Cady finally has a life she can be 100% happy with. Great ending to an adventure filled series.
* This book was provided free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
renpuspita's review
4.0
4 stars
Well...look like Banishing the Dark is the series finale *sigh*. After the "ZOMG, WOW WHAT AN ENDING" in Binding the Shadow, Bennett back with Cady's final adventure, to know who she is, what she is and what she will do to end her conflict with her murderous and megalomaniac mother. The book feel calmer compared to the previous that so high on drama llama, but Bennett still manage to make my emotions jumbling all over the places. The showdown between Cady and her mother kinda anticlimatic. I agree with some reviewers that its feel so rushed. I also a little bit disappointed because. But the epilogue that Bennett wrote wrapped up the story nicely and I'm glad that all are good in Bell-Butler casa.
For me, the strength of this series lay in the relationship between the characters. I will said again and again that I REALLY LOVED Cady and Lon's healthy romantic relationship. Their May-December scandal often write as comic relief, but I like that they support each other. In Banishing the Dark, in order to deceive Cady's mother, Cady and Lon go through some memory spell that remove some Cady's memory, therefore make Cady kinda forget that she and Lon is already in romantic relationship. It kinda confusing and sad to read it, but I get that it must done. Beside..don't fret, happy ending all the way!
Not only from Cady's first POV, Bennett also write 3rd PoV from Jupe's. Sure he's still motormouth and hyper, also his reaction to his crush is so cute to read (and it's not Kar Yee). Bennett capture Jupe's voice so well and I get why now she wrote mostly YA. You can't help to get annoyed to Jupe's jumbling minds, but well, teenager supposed to be annoying perhaps. But, you will adore him too. And, I do like that even Priya still got excited when he got summoned by Cady, he still have this on going rival with Lon, lol. Surprisely, Priya kinda getting along with Jupe, maybe because both are teenage boys.
I have a feeling because of words constriction, Bennett seems like omitted some parts. Not enough Kar Yee (she kinda have big fight with Cady in the previous book. I want to read how they made up!). Not enough Hajo (surprised he find love in the end. Not gonna tell who the (un)lucky lady). Not enough Bob (sad noises) and Lon's in-laws (despite Rose strict demeanor to Cady at first, lol). Anyway, they all appear in the epilogue, but will be nice if they got more appearance, hahaha. This book mostly focus in Cady and Lon's search of Cady's Moonchild secret and Jupe's effort to "help" his loved ones.
Wish it was longer, but well, Arcadia Bell series is still worth to read. It got a rough beginning at the start, but getting smoother with each books and wrapped up kinda nicely. A good blending of demonology and magic world building, better written characters in term of characterization, relationship and development and have strong romantic elements, I will said Arcadia Bell is one of Urban Fantasy series that you don't want to miss!
Well...look like Banishing the Dark is the series finale *sigh*. After the "ZOMG, WOW WHAT AN ENDING" in Binding the Shadow, Bennett back with Cady's final adventure, to know who she is, what she is and what she will do to end her conflict with her murderous and megalomaniac mother. The book feel calmer compared to the previous that so high on drama llama, but Bennett still manage to make my emotions jumbling all over the places. The showdown between Cady and her mother kinda anticlimatic. I agree with some reviewers that its feel so rushed. I also a little bit disappointed because
Spoiler
we don't really get who is the demon that Cady's parents used when they tried to conceive her. Cady sorta like have all the demonic knacks, but I'm not sure if its because the Moonchild abilities, the demon identity or combination of sort. I think I will get the closure, but Bennett kinda make it left openFor me, the strength of this series lay in the relationship between the characters. I will said again and again that I REALLY LOVED Cady and Lon's healthy romantic relationship. Their May-December scandal often write as comic relief, but I like that they support each other. In Banishing the Dark, in order to deceive Cady's mother, Cady and Lon go through some memory spell that remove some Cady's memory, therefore make Cady kinda forget that she and Lon is already in romantic relationship. It kinda confusing and sad to read it, but I get that it must done. Beside..don't fret, happy ending all the way!
Not only from Cady's first POV, Bennett also write 3rd PoV from Jupe's. Sure he's still motormouth and hyper, also his reaction to his crush is so cute to read (and it's not Kar Yee). Bennett capture Jupe's voice so well and I get why now she wrote mostly YA. You can't help to get annoyed to Jupe's jumbling minds, but well, teenager supposed to be annoying perhaps. But, you will adore him too. And, I do like that even Priya still got excited when he got summoned by Cady, he still have this on going rival with Lon, lol. Surprisely, Priya kinda getting along with Jupe, maybe because both are teenage boys.
I have a feeling because of words constriction, Bennett seems like omitted some parts. Not enough Kar Yee (she kinda have big fight with Cady in the previous book. I want to read how they made up!). Not enough Hajo (surprised he find love in the end. Not gonna tell who the (un)lucky lady). Not enough Bob (sad noises) and Lon's in-laws (despite Rose strict demeanor to Cady at first, lol). Anyway, they all appear in the epilogue, but will be nice if they got more appearance, hahaha. This book mostly focus in Cady and Lon's search of Cady's Moonchild secret and Jupe's effort to "help" his loved ones.
Wish it was longer, but well, Arcadia Bell series is still worth to read. It got a rough beginning at the start, but getting smoother with each books and wrapped up kinda nicely. A good blending of demonology and magic world building, better written characters in term of characterization, relationship and development and have strong romantic elements, I will said Arcadia Bell is one of Urban Fantasy series that you don't want to miss!
cr6zym0nkeyiz's review
4.0
I cannot believe this was the last book! What a short series! I think I just wanted Arcadia Bell to go on forever, because it was such an awesome series! BANISHING THE DARK is where we wrap everything up. A bombshell cliffhanger happened in the previous book, Binding the Shadows. Cady was locked up by Dare, killed Dare and was sent to the hospital. Oh, and the last thing she heard before she passed out was that she was pregnant with Lon's baby.
In BANISHING THE DARK, Cady is on a mission to get her mother out of her head and keeping her from finding out about the baby by any means possible. And completely stopping her altogether. She has quite the task for her and Lon and Jupe (Decided by Jupe himself) decide to help her anyway that they can. And the best part. Jupe has his own chapters. We get to dive right into the mind of Jupe Butler!
I'm not going to give anything away, because I want you to read it for yourself and find out. I enjoyed the Arcadia Bell series immensely. Jenn Bennett really made some fun and unqiue here and I enjoyed every minute of this series. I'm looking forward to more books by Jenn Bennett.
In BANISHING THE DARK, Cady is on a mission to get her mother out of her head and keeping her from finding out about the baby by any means possible. And completely stopping her altogether. She has quite the task for her and Lon and Jupe (Decided by Jupe himself) decide to help her anyway that they can. And the best part. Jupe has his own chapters. We get to dive right into the mind of Jupe Butler!
I'm not going to give anything away, because I want you to read it for yourself and find out. I enjoyed the Arcadia Bell series immensely. Jenn Bennett really made some fun and unqiue here and I enjoyed every minute of this series. I'm looking forward to more books by Jenn Bennett.
rclz's review against another edition
5.0
Well crap. I had no idea this was going to be the end of it. Good book, good series. Read it. I'm not much for kids in my stories but even I like Jupe. Sigh....
aphelia88's review against another edition
5.0
Very unusually in the world of Urban Fantasy, the Arcadia Bell series consists of only 4 books (and one e-novella which I haven't read). I had no idea going into this that this was the final book; I skipped book 3, [b:Binding the Shadows|13630629|Binding the Shadows (Arcadia Bell, #3)|Jenn Bennett|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1382648884s/13630629.jpg|19238565], and would like to find it to complete my collection one day, but there is enough recap that I didn't feel lost.
This is, hands down, one of the best series endings I have ever read! Bennett takes us forward into the future 3 1/2 years to show us the characters on their new paths. Although I think the events here could have stretched into two books and I'm sad to see Cady go, the ending is immensely satisfactory and a great example of a Happily Ever After instead of just a Happily For Now.
Cady finally confronts her malicious, manipulative mother and in an interesting twist, their roles are reversed: Cady has become a physical "monster" due to her demon heritage (she gets a really neat demon form and new knacks in this book) but has a good heart while her mother, who Cady has justly viewed as monstrous, turns out to be merely a pathetic human, with an evil heart.
That makes the Final Battle something entirely different than UF readers are used to: it is subtle and heart-breaking, and although at first it feels a little anticlimactic, when I thought back on it I realized it's a actually a very clever piece of writing.
This is the book where everyone grows up: Cady, Lon and Lupe. This series is also unique for it's portrayal of a blended family. Lon's teenage son Lupe has become the stepson Cady never knew she wanted or could love, and a major new issue and the events in this book all bring them closer together, and they make a real family.
One quibble:
Overall, I really grew to love Arcadia Bell and her crazy world and I would definitely recommend this series to any Urban Fantasy fan. I really hope Bennett writes more in this world in the future!
This is, hands down, one of the best series endings I have ever read! Bennett takes us forward into the future 3 1/2 years to show us the characters on their new paths. Although I think the events here could have stretched into two books and I'm sad to see Cady go, the ending is immensely satisfactory and a great example of a Happily Ever After instead of just a Happily For Now.
Cady finally confronts her malicious, manipulative mother and in an interesting twist, their roles are reversed: Cady has become a physical "monster" due to her demon heritage (she gets a really neat demon form and new knacks in this book) but has a good heart while her mother, who Cady has justly viewed as monstrous, turns out to be merely a pathetic human, with an evil heart.
That makes the Final Battle something entirely different than UF readers are used to: it is subtle and heart-breaking, and although at first it feels a little anticlimactic, when I thought back on it I realized it's a actually a very clever piece of writing.
This is the book where everyone grows up: Cady, Lon and Lupe. This series is also unique for it's portrayal of a blended family. Lon's teenage son Lupe has become the stepson Cady never knew she wanted or could love, and a major new issue
Spoiler
Cady's unexpected pregnancyOne quibble:
Spoiler
The memory spell. When Cady finds out she's pregnant, after she and Lon are finished hilariously freaking out, she realizes that her mother, who can enter her dreams, will see the child and use it to manipulate her. So Cady begs Lon to take her memories - except it also takes all her memories of Lon too. I'm not a big fan of this trope. But it does let Cady and Lon begin again - with lots of sexy times - and, as Lon says in the end, Cady chose him twice so that means they must be meant to be together. It was well done, and for a good reason.Overall, I really grew to love Arcadia Bell and her crazy world and I would definitely recommend this series to any Urban Fantasy fan. I really hope Bennett writes more in this world in the future!