3.5 out of 5 stars
E-book. Kindle Unlimited. 156 pages. Published January 26th 2019 by Amazon Digital Services
Blurb:
Kennard and Stas have been enjoying being newly bonded mates, hidden away for the last six months in Stasโ cabin, deep in the forests of Northern Russia. When they get a visit from Alec, Cronin, Eiji, and Jodis, Kennard and Stas decide to return to London where they get news of a supernatural disturbance in India.
Excited for a new adventure, the band of friends embark on a journey like theyโve never seen before. Following a trail of snakes and serpents, they slip through gates into timeless dimensions all over the world, leaving them without their vampire powers. Even Alec is powerless as they follow a trail of gates and doorways to their final destination.
But the bad guy isnโt who they think it is, and Kennard will need to draw on his past to save their future. Because history is never what it seemsโฆ
Likes:
- Kennard and Staz.
- Kennard doesn’t have a vampire power.
- Enji’s driving.
- Lots of ancient temples.
- Great scenery.
- Historical figures who were vampires.
Dislikes:
- Kennard may be the POV character, but the story’s not really about him.
- Kennard and Staz feel like they’re just along for another Alec and Cronin adventure.
- This book felt completely formulaic.
- Alec is still the main focus.
I came to this book fully expecting something noticeably different from the first three books in the series, and boy was I disappointed. Yes, Kennard is the point of view character, but he’s not the main focus of the story. Which makes the title feel like false advertising.
A big part of why I’m so disappointed is the fact that I like Kennard and wanted to get to see him and Staz build a life together. And there was plenty of material to work with. The men are so different that I was looking forward to some personality and culture clashes. After all, Staz has spent centuries living alone in a cabin in Lithuania because his mind reading ability is impossible to control, whereas Kennard is a rich, stylish city vampire who is an elder of his coven.
At least one of these issues could be dealt with, because Alec can shield Staz’s mind, which meant that Staz could be around other people. I was looking forward to Staz learning about the modern era. There were a lot of technological advances he didn’t know about.
But we didn’t get any of that. Instead, there was yet another ancient vampire hell bent on world domination, which meant that Alec, Cronin, Enji, and Jodis took the lead to save the day. Kennard and Staz felt like they were just along for the ride. It wasn’t until the 59% mark that there was even a hint that Kennard might have a unique role to play in defeating the bad guy. Luckily, that hint turned out to be true, and Kennard did play a role that no one else could have.
Of all the books in the series, this one felt the most formulaic. Only this time, no one has much information on who they’re up against. That should have made the stakes feel higher, but once again, I wasn’t worried that anyone would get seriously hurt. Even when everyone was temporarily cut off from their unique vampiric powers, I wasn’t worried. I mean, there were six strong, healthy vampires who all knew how to fight.
While the plot itself felt formulaic, I did like the scenery the group passed through. The temples were well described, and the whole portal thing was cool. The historical figures mentioned were on par with the other books, and I honestly think I would have liked this book much more if it wasn’t so structurally similar to the first three. I was especially unhappy to realize that the villain was specifically after Alec, because I genuinely expected this book to be about Kennard.
Overall, I think I would have been less disappointed if I hadn’t expected Kennard and Staz’s relationship and life together to take such a central role. So that’s on me. I still feel like the title was false advertising, and am disappointed that Staz never got point of view sections of his own. But I am glad that the first six months of them together and doing nothing but having sex in a cabin was omitted. And that we finally saw Alec make good on his promise to teach his friends how to drive. Enji’s driving made me laugh.
This book wasn’t a bad ending for the series. There were comments about how it was likely that more evil vampires would pop up in the future, but that none would appear for a few hundred years. So everyone would have plenty of time to relax.
Be sure to check out the review for the other books in the series, Croninโs Key (Croninโs Key #1) and Croninโs Key II (Croninโs Key #2), and Cronin’s Key III (Cronin’s Key #3).
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