The All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness

"You have to read these books so I would have someone to talk to about them!" a friend gushed in a phone call. "They are so good!"
I hadn't read anything in a while and was eager to get back into the habit, and I'd gotten a few recommendations for this series already, so I decided to give it a go and borrowed A Discovery of Witches from the library.
The story had a slow start, but I liked the promise of the world and the characters so I kept reading. By the time I could tell who was who and where the whole thing was going they'd grown on me, so I dove in deeper, finishing the book in a few days. So much about the story was predictable and formulaic, but because of the close attention the author paid to the characters and the world building I found it extremely satisfying. I loved the intimacy of Diana's routines, her thinking process, her growing fascination with Matthew, the gradual unfolding of and hinting at the mysteries, the lurking danger. The familiarity of the tropes made the story comforting while Harkness' spin on them kept it fresh, so I by the time I turned the last page the sequel was there waiting for me to begin right away.
The first few chapters of Shadow of Night started out as well as one can expect a sequel to do, but soon enough I could tell something was missing. The setting was new and exciting, the challenges our heroes faced were not so familiar any more, there were even a handful of new characters who charmed and amused me, and yet I didn't look forward to reading time as much as I did with the first installment. Soon I realized what it was. The heart wasn't there. I don't know if the story grew and there wasn't enough time or room to develop it properly, or the author was so fascinated with the setting that it overshadowed the story, but I kept thinking to myself "Who are these people and what has she done with Diana and Matthew?!" I could catch glimpses of the characters I'd grown fond of here and there, but those glimpses didn't last long enough. Moreover, as capable as Diana was, I had a lot of trouble believing that she could accomplish that much that well in that short of a time with no practical foundation. I could buy that she was good, but not that she was that good. Had the main mystery been less compelling, I probably would have abandoned the series, but it had me thinking about it and the implications, so I pressed on.
The Book Of Life immediately had the feel of an action-packed blockbuster. There was so much plot that character development seemed barely more than bright flashes in the blur of events, and I had to slow down reading to keep everything straight. It was very exciting though. Extremely. All the connections that tied the story together were coming to light, Matthew turned out to be much more flawed than the prequels revealed (especially the first book), and Diana... Diana went from capable in A Discovery of Witches, to formidable in Shadow of Night, to indomitable in The Book Of Life, a force to be reckoned with in every sense of the phrase. Despite the thrill of the transformation I missed the original Diana sometimes. That one reminded me of a beautiful, soft, pastel-colored rose with sharp thorns. This one was also beautiful, but in a dark, hard way, all sharp angles and razor blades for thorns.
One of my criteria of a great book is whether I would read it again, and this trilogy didn't quite make the cut. I would probably revisit The Book Of Life at some point to get rid of the sensation of whiplash, but I wouldn't buy the trilogy to keep. Had the series been five books, I think it would have been stronger. The story would've had room to breathe, there was definitely enough plot in books 2 and 3 to fill the volumes, and with a concept as rich as this Ms. Harkness could've made it into an amazing series in every respect. As it is, I couldn't quite share in my friend's enthusiasm, despite The All Souls' many positive qualities. I did find my kind of series later though, but that is a review for another time.

Review: Crusade by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguié

For the past two years, Jenn has lived and trained at Spain’s Sacred Heart Academy Against the Cursed Ones. She is among the few who have pledged to defend humanity or die trying. But the vampires are gaining power, and the battle has only just begun.
Forced to return home after death takes a member of her family, Jenn discovers that San Francisco is now a vampire strong-hold. As a lone hunter apart from her team, Jenn is isolated — and at risk. Even worse, Jenn is betrayed by one who was once bound to protect her, causing her to doubt all she had held as true. To survive, Jenn must find the courage to trust herself — and her heart.

Crusade was a book that originally ended up on my TBR list because of the cover. It was so full of promises of dark action and adventure that I immediately wanted to know what it was about. The blurb made me even more curious and when a copy landed in my mailbox last year I knew I'd get to it sooner rather than later. It didn't disappoint - the characters, the writing, the suspence and the action kept the story going and me glued to the book for a full two days. The premise of vampires revealing their existence to the world, forming alliances with humans under false pretenses and then taking over was new to me and the idea of teens from all over the world learning to fight them at specialized academies seemed like a pretty cool counterweight and I liked the way it was executed.
Crusade packs an interesting cast of characters and in a series of flashbacks tells a bit about them. There's a witch, a werewolf, a devout Catholic vampire, an IRA fighter, a wannabe samurai, a priest who's got more secrets than all of them put together and those are the good guys. Holder and Viguié are very gradual with the revelations and by the time the novel ends it's clear that we don't know the half of it. That's actually one of the things that dampened my enthusiasm - you usually expect that by the end of the last chapter there'd be a resolution of sorts but here at the end of the book things are just getting started. Not a bad thing for a series of course, but I guess I expected more of an "ending" than a minor lull in action.
I'm not usually a fan of extensive flashbacks because they tend to slow down the action but here they were actually very effective at making the characters more real. Through their past we get a better sense of who they are which is great because they are secretive with each other and without these insights they'd be a lot more one-dimensional, which is never a good thing.
Another thing I didn't particularly enjoy was the angsty vampire and the much-heard/seen/read "I love her so much but we can't be together because I'm no good". Come on people, there are only so many ways this sort of thing can be spun and seems like they've all been done. And here's another thought - why not make the girl the dangerous one, the one who has to hold back? Why is it always the guy?
I liked the writing and the way things developed. The dialogue flowed well, every character had a unique voice and there was just enough suspence to keep me guessing as to the identity of the possible traitor in the midst of the Hunters. I think I know where things are heading but then again the authors have planted enough false clues to keep things interesting.
It was refreshing to see vampires as the bad guys and here they are very bad guys. Cunning, cruel, crafty and murderous. Sunlight and holy water hurt them and a stake through the heart is a sure way to get rid of one. (I can hear the Twilight haters cheering.) There's also black magic, warewolves allied with the vampires and humans ready to betray their own kind so this book is pretty juicy and it sets up the scene well for an even jucier sequel, which by the way is already out so look for Damned if you like this first book in the series. I sure will be looking it up at the library.