A review by reader44ever
Ascension by Caris Roane

4.0

3.5 stars

I ended up liking this book, but the beginning left me in doubt and by the end, though I enjoyed it, I wasn't as in love with it as I had hoped I would be before starting it.

My problems with the beginning were twofold: first was the swearing, which I later-in-the-story learned was part of "warrior-speak." It seemed jarring for some reason, perhaps because the characters doing most of it were angels of a sort? I don't know, as swearing doesn't usually bother me, but at the start of this story it just seemed wrong and out of place.

The other thing I didn't care for was the violence done by the evil vampires. I know they're evil, but did they really have to
kill a mother and her child, and rape/kill a teenage girl? That seemed a bit over the top to me.
:(

My above complaints both surfaced in the very first chapter, hence my doubts about how well I would end up liking the book as a whole. But thankfully by the time I finished reading another 50+ pages, I was liking the story more. I adjusted to the writing style and language and the swearing became "natural" rather than jarring as it had been earlier.

By the end, I was actually eager to continue and was sad when the book was finished, especially since there were a couple threads left open (grrr!). Thankfully, I cared enough about Kerrick and Alison and their world that I'm definitely interested in continuing the series. I am especially interested since it looks like each book will feature a different one of the warriors as lead male, and I really liked them all and want to learn more about them. :)