Silver-Tongued Devil (Sabina Kane, book 4)
Author: Jaye Wells
Publisher: Orbit
Publication Date: January 5, 2012
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Other books in the series:
Red-Headed Stepchild, book #1
The Mage in Black, book #2
Green-Eyed Demon, book #3 (reviewed)
Silver-Tongued Devil, book #4
Blue-Blooded Vamp, book #5, TBR June 21, 2012
Red-Headed Stepchild, book #1
The Mage in Black, book #2
Green-Eyed Demon, book #3 (reviewed)
Silver-Tongued Devil, book #4
Blue-Blooded Vamp, book #5, TBR June 21, 2012
How I Got It: Net Galley for review, my own purchased copy
Goodreads Summary:
Now that the threat of war has passed, Sabina Kane is ready to focus on the future. Her relationship with Adam Lazarus is getting stronger and she's helping her sister, Maisie, overcome the trauma of her captivity in New Orleans. Even Giguhl is managing to stay out of trouble thanks to the arrival of Pussy Willow and his new roller derby team. But as much as Sabina wants to feel hopeful about the future, part of her doesn't trust that peace is possible.
Her suspicions are confirmed when a string of sadistic murders threaten to stall treaty negotiations between the mages and the vampires. Sabina pitches in to find the killer, but her investigation soon leads her down dark paths that have her questioning everyone she thought she could trust. And the closer she gets to the killer, the more Sabina begins to suspect this is one foe she may not be able to kill.
Her suspicions are confirmed when a string of sadistic murders threaten to stall treaty negotiations between the mages and the vampires. Sabina pitches in to find the killer, but her investigation soon leads her down dark paths that have her questioning everyone she thought she could trust. And the closer she gets to the killer, the more Sabina begins to suspect this is one foe she may not be able to kill.
I have enjoyed the Sabina Kane series a great deal. I love how she has grown as a character instead of being stuck in the crochity-I'm-the-scary-assassin-and-I-hate-everybody attitude that we see in the beginning of Red-Headed Stepchild. Sabina has developed into a person she likes that has friends, can fall in love, and doesn't always kill problems before trying to solve them (this was a hard habit to break). So it's understandable that I was quite worried after reading the preview of Silver-Tongued Devil at the end of book three. The excerpt made it seem that she was unhappy and lost because she wasn't killing people and I feared she would do something monumentally stupid and screw up the new life she had built. I was worried when I started this book and discovered that those particular fears were unfounded.
Sabina is filled with guilt, worry, and anger after the events of Green-Eyed Demon. Her grandmother drove her twin sister Maisie mad with fear and blood lust. Maisie attacked her best friend and Sabina's lover Adam and almost killed him. On top of this Sabina blames herself for not rescuing Maisie, for screwing up her perfect life, for not killing her grandmother in time, and is angry at herself for her anger and fear towards Maisie. Adam and Maisie are clearly suffering from PTSD and not addressing it. Instead everyone is denying their problems and walking around on egg shells. This creates additional problems for Sabina and Adam. He is afraid of her vampire half and Sabina spends a lot of time and effort repressing that side of herself. In turn Maisie seems to be going downhill fast; she depressed, isolating herself, and her behavior has changed quite a bit. I thought Wells handled all of these complicated emotions and connections very well. This part of the story never seemed drawn out or melodramatic - it was their reality and they were struggling through it.
Their lives are further complicated by vampire murders that must be stopped and solved. Clues point to all of the wrong people and tensions run high in Sabina's tight knit group. This aspect of the story was also well handled. The mystery was nice and tense and also gave us more of the dynamic duo of Sabina in Giguhl (such a welcome return). The investigations also brings up past actions that Sabina never wanted known and they hurt Adam greatly. Wells doesn't sabotage this relationship, she remains true to both characters. Neither Adam nor Sabina does anything rash or foolish but readers will understand why each party is hurt.
Really, the only thing I didn't like about this book was the part where Sabina and Giguhl go to a different dimension to rescue Maisie from Caine. Instead of the series moving organically to a final confrontation with Caine, I felt like I was being forced and occasionally beaten over the head with this particular aspect of the storyline. I was very disappointed, especially after enjoying the story up until this point. The ending left me feeling unsatisfied and once again concerned over the next, and final, book.
Sabina is filled with guilt, worry, and anger after the events of Green-Eyed Demon. Her grandmother drove her twin sister Maisie mad with fear and blood lust. Maisie attacked her best friend and Sabina's lover Adam and almost killed him. On top of this Sabina blames herself for not rescuing Maisie, for screwing up her perfect life, for not killing her grandmother in time, and is angry at herself for her anger and fear towards Maisie. Adam and Maisie are clearly suffering from PTSD and not addressing it. Instead everyone is denying their problems and walking around on egg shells. This creates additional problems for Sabina and Adam. He is afraid of her vampire half and Sabina spends a lot of time and effort repressing that side of herself. In turn Maisie seems to be going downhill fast; she depressed, isolating herself, and her behavior has changed quite a bit. I thought Wells handled all of these complicated emotions and connections very well. This part of the story never seemed drawn out or melodramatic - it was their reality and they were struggling through it.
Their lives are further complicated by vampire murders that must be stopped and solved. Clues point to all of the wrong people and tensions run high in Sabina's tight knit group. This aspect of the story was also well handled. The mystery was nice and tense and also gave us more of the dynamic duo of Sabina in Giguhl (such a welcome return). The investigations also brings up past actions that Sabina never wanted known and they hurt Adam greatly. Wells doesn't sabotage this relationship, she remains true to both characters. Neither Adam nor Sabina does anything rash or foolish but readers will understand why each party is hurt.
Really, the only thing I didn't like about this book was the part where Sabina and Giguhl go to a different dimension to rescue Maisie from Caine. Instead of the series moving organically to a final confrontation with Caine, I felt like I was being forced and occasionally beaten over the head with this particular aspect of the storyline. I was very disappointed, especially after enjoying the story up until this point. The ending left me feeling unsatisfied and once again concerned over the next, and final, book.
Verdict:
Silver-Tongued Devil was an enjoyable read with more Sabina and Giguhl action, a good bloody mystery, and lots of realistic emotional conflict. The Empire Strikes Back-esque ending (as in not quite an ending) made sense, but was unsatisfying. I felt that the drive to the final book of the series seemed forced and made the last few chapters a little disappointing. This is a good story overall, filled with witty banter and action, it just felt like the end of the book was shoving me towards the final conflict instead of taking me there.
Related Links & Reviews:
My Bookish Ways review
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1 comments:
The way that events play out in Silver-Tongued Devil really ramp the background story arc for the next book, which if rumors are true, is supposed to be the last. And they don't come without a steep cost for Sabina, but I am really looking forward to the next book Blue-Blooded Vamp, because it looks like Wells is working up to an epic finale.
June 27, 2012 at 10:36 PMPost a Comment