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shanaqui's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Summoner of Storms concludes volume 2 of these books, so it's a good point to step back and think about the story so far as a whole. A lot has changed in the last three books, and the status quo is well and truly shattered: things and people aren't as we thought they were, and Caleb, Gray and John's relationship has grown.
There's a lot of good development in these three books, looked at from the end -- each individual book might feel pretty short, but together it really builds up. A certain betrayal, and the aftermath of that for several key relationships; the wider plot with SPECTR and what they're up to; what Gray is and what he can do. I enjoyed that the betrayal wasn't all someone being an asshole: it makes sense for the characters and their motivations, and all the things they've experienced.
The only thing I didn't enjoy much was the jealousy subplot in the first book of this volume (so book four of the series). I feel like Hawk has leaned on this a bit too much in a bunch of books; it's very human, but it's not of interest to me personally.
I'm pretty happy with where the series gets to by this point: each book within this volume advanced things and changed things, and now Caleb, Gray and John are in a whole new world. I'll be fascinated to see where it goes.
There's a lot of good development in these three books, looked at from the end -- each individual book might feel pretty short, but together it really builds up. A certain betrayal, and the aftermath of that for several key relationships; the wider plot with SPECTR and what they're up to; what Gray is and what he can do. I enjoyed that the betrayal wasn't all someone being an asshole: it makes sense for the characters and their motivations, and all the things they've experienced.
The only thing I didn't enjoy much was the jealousy subplot in the first book of this volume (so book four of the series). I feel like Hawk has leaned on this a bit too much in a bunch of books; it's very human, but it's not of interest to me personally.
I'm pretty happy with where the series gets to by this point: each book within this volume advanced things and changed things, and now Caleb, Gray and John are in a whole new world. I'll be fascinated to see where it goes.
shanaqui's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
So, now I'm at the end of this collection, it's time for me to put my thoughts together about the story in volume two. There were some bits I wasn't a huge fan of -- the silly jealousy plot with John's ex, basically -- though in retrospect that did partly set up something else that turned out to be important. (Much as I hate jealousy subplots: realistic, sure, but not interesting to me.)
From there, though, the status quo gets broken (shattered into tiny pieces) and some really interesting stuff starts happening, drawing out Gray's purpose, changing the relationship between Caleb and John, and bringing home some important stuff that had already been hinted at. I shan't say more than that because of spoilers, other than that the betrayal surprised me -- but I was pleased by the way things worked out, and felt that a certain amount of subtlety there was very welcome.
The volume finishes out with a fairly logical point to pause, but much left to consider where the characters are concerned. I'm curious where it's going to go next, and eager to grab the next volume.
From there, though, the status quo gets broken (shattered into tiny pieces) and some really interesting stuff starts happening, drawing out Gray's purpose, changing the relationship between Caleb and John, and bringing home some important stuff that had already been hinted at. I shan't say more than that because of spoilers, other than that the betrayal surprised me -- but I was pleased by the way things worked out, and felt that a certain amount of subtlety there was very welcome.
The volume finishes out with a fairly logical point to pause, but much left to consider where the characters are concerned. I'm curious where it's going to go next, and eager to grab the next volume.
roxanamalinachirila's review against another edition
4.0
Now that the series has ended, I can finally write a more comprehensive review about it! Yay!
Having three people in a relationship is hard and not the sort of happy ending you usually expect in books, be they romance novels or otherwise. If you want your story to be believable, you need to balance between the characters, to ensure that each has a credible voice and a reason to want to be there and to make it work. "Spectr" manages that beautifully. Sure, it's not your usual thee-way arrangement, because two of those involved inhabit the same body and one of them is a supernatural being of great power who doesn't really get most human things, but it managed to work from all points of view here.
So, I just love that. You don't often get more-than-couples in fiction and, even though I can write my own (especially inside my head, since I don't seem to do much actual writing these days), it's lovely to see them out of my own imagination, too.
The plot in "Summoner of Storms" is a bit cheesy, but I really didn't mind that - you have a foolish person trying to do something amazingly stupid and, errr, summoning a supernatural shitstorm because of it (not what the title refers to), an epic battle with epicness, the power of love, and a lot of ass-kicking. It was fun, it felt exactly as the end of a series should and I'm looking forward to buying the second Spectr series the moment all the volumes are out, because I don't want to read them novella by novella and wait in between.
Having three people in a relationship is hard and not the sort of happy ending you usually expect in books, be they romance novels or otherwise. If you want your story to be believable, you need to balance between the characters, to ensure that each has a credible voice and a reason to want to be there and to make it work. "Spectr" manages that beautifully. Sure, it's not your usual thee-way arrangement, because two of those involved inhabit the same body and one of them is a supernatural being of great power who doesn't really get most human things, but it managed to work from all points of view here.
So, I just love that. You don't often get more-than-couples in fiction and, even though I can write my own (especially inside my head, since I don't seem to do much actual writing these days), it's lovely to see them out of my own imagination, too.
The plot in "Summoner of Storms" is a bit cheesy, but I really didn't mind that - you have a foolish person trying to do something amazingly stupid and, errr, summoning a supernatural shitstorm because of it (not what the title refers to), an epic battle with epicness, the power of love, and a lot of ass-kicking. It was fun, it felt exactly as the end of a series should and I'm looking forward to buying the second Spectr series the moment all the volumes are out, because I don't want to read them novella by novella and wait in between.
westernsunshine's review
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
lilybear's review against another edition
5.0
Epic. How is this not a tv series or movie??? Its so awesome. This book features the final showdown as evil intentions are revealed and John, Grey, and Caleb might very well be the only thing standing in the way of the world's destruction.
Grey is my FAVORITE. Ancient Drakel got jokes! And such a libido.
Grey is my FAVORITE. Ancient Drakel got jokes! And such a libido.
claudia_is_reading's review against another edition
5.0
Shees, this book! *cuddles the whole series*
Lots of action, lots of angst, a great plot and a love story that blew my mind, what else can anybody wish?
An amazing ending to an amazing series ♥
Lots of action, lots of angst, a great plot and a love story that blew my mind, what else can anybody wish?
An amazing ending to an amazing series ♥
amyiw's review against another edition
4.0
This wraps up pretty good, though the uber powerful being is a little God like. Luckily it is an ending. My main problem was the awkwardness of the talking about feelings. It was so stilted and over explaining that it almost hurts. The other encounters are not like this and I guess it is because their relationship is, in a sense, finalized here. It just felt unreal and took my reading out of the story and into unreal feelings talk. They do have an unusually relationship since Gray and Caleb are in the same body so share the same lover but, it is still stilted. Also John calls Gray a man several times, or say two men, which Gray is not. Gray has said that he doesn't have gender. Besides he is an entity, not a man. This reference would take me out of the story since this was explained and then just forgotten. hmm...
Well getting over the stilted relationship talk, the over all story arc comes to an exciting and crashing end. You kind of can see what is coming but it is nice to get the wrap up from the last two books. Books 4-6 are one story, whereas the first 3 each have separate stories and endings without big cliffhangers.
Well getting over the stilted relationship talk, the over all story arc comes to an exciting and crashing end. You kind of can see what is coming but it is nice to get the wrap up from the last two books. Books 4-6 are one story, whereas the first 3 each have separate stories and endings without big cliffhangers.
icedragonchilde's review against another edition
4.0
The finale of the first series, this book focuses more on plot than on the relationship among the three mains, which is understandable, as the main conflict there has already been resolved in the previous book.
Still, because of that I found this book to be a little bit less engaging and moving than the last one, though the climactic final battle is certainly very cool and satisfying
Still, because of that I found this book to be a little bit less engaging and moving than the last one, though the climactic final battle is certainly very cool and satisfying