Helpful Score: 1
I have read the whole series and I've given the books mixed reviews. Some of them I loved, some I hated, and some I found okay. As the end of this series, I found "Rush of Pleasure" a disappointment. It was a passable read but being the last book I just expected better. *SPOILERS ALERT!!*
Character inconsistency was a huge problem here. In the beginning, I loved Willow. She was strong and skilled. Then all of a sudden the Casus / zombies arrived and she froze, doing nothing. All she was good for at that point was being the virgin sacrifice. She was supposed to be a warrior. I loved Noah in the other books but here he was like all the male leads I hated in the series (not that I hated all of them, some of them I adored). It was sad because the Noah I loved was shoved into Byrds alpha mold and left it at that.
Byrd has a tendency to confuse passion with violence. I remember commenting in one of her other book reviews that a man who hits the wall, especially the one behind the woman crowding into her space, is not sexy at all. It is immature and borderline psychologically abusive. Ive read other authors write about calm, brooding males losing it by destroying things but somehow it comes across sexy there but not here. Maybe if it wasnt so overdone and not in such close vicinity to Willow. Noah was being restrained twice, punching walls, getting into Willows face, and then punching more walls. Talk about a temper tantrum. It was just too much and I was hoping someone would knock him out.
Noah and Willows love scenes were kind of dull. Im not a prude when it comes to steamy scenes but there were just too much of the same thing. Their thoughts about the past were redundant and Byrd kept rehashing them. I wished Byrd would have tagged on a few more pages that moved the plot along. There were just so many more cool things to spend time on like the reunion with Harris (which was so weak), Damons past, or the big battle at the end. And why would you skip the big battle just so you can get laid as soon as possible? That just didn't make sense. And what if the spell didn't work and they needed Willow physically there? Was someone supposed to get on the cell phone and call her to come over while they were being killed? Willow was supposed to be a strong PI/witch/bounty hunter type gal, would she be happy with Noah protecting her from everything?
I expected more cameos and resolutions from the past characters. But Byrd barely skimmed the surface. What she wrote felt rushed or she just all together skipped it. Everything at the end felt anticlimactic. I got towards the end of the book and thought it would never end.
I thought it was a sloppy end to the series and found myself glad it was over. If you have read the whole series like I have, of course you have to read this one. Just lower your expectations.
Character inconsistency was a huge problem here. In the beginning, I loved Willow. She was strong and skilled. Then all of a sudden the Casus / zombies arrived and she froze, doing nothing. All she was good for at that point was being the virgin sacrifice. She was supposed to be a warrior. I loved Noah in the other books but here he was like all the male leads I hated in the series (not that I hated all of them, some of them I adored). It was sad because the Noah I loved was shoved into Byrds alpha mold and left it at that.
Byrd has a tendency to confuse passion with violence. I remember commenting in one of her other book reviews that a man who hits the wall, especially the one behind the woman crowding into her space, is not sexy at all. It is immature and borderline psychologically abusive. Ive read other authors write about calm, brooding males losing it by destroying things but somehow it comes across sexy there but not here. Maybe if it wasnt so overdone and not in such close vicinity to Willow. Noah was being restrained twice, punching walls, getting into Willows face, and then punching more walls. Talk about a temper tantrum. It was just too much and I was hoping someone would knock him out.
Noah and Willows love scenes were kind of dull. Im not a prude when it comes to steamy scenes but there were just too much of the same thing. Their thoughts about the past were redundant and Byrd kept rehashing them. I wished Byrd would have tagged on a few more pages that moved the plot along. There were just so many more cool things to spend time on like the reunion with Harris (which was so weak), Damons past, or the big battle at the end. And why would you skip the big battle just so you can get laid as soon as possible? That just didn't make sense. And what if the spell didn't work and they needed Willow physically there? Was someone supposed to get on the cell phone and call her to come over while they were being killed? Willow was supposed to be a strong PI/witch/bounty hunter type gal, would she be happy with Noah protecting her from everything?
I expected more cameos and resolutions from the past characters. But Byrd barely skimmed the surface. What she wrote felt rushed or she just all together skipped it. Everything at the end felt anticlimactic. I got towards the end of the book and thought it would never end.
I thought it was a sloppy end to the series and found myself glad it was over. If you have read the whole series like I have, of course you have to read this one. Just lower your expectations.
Helpful Score: 1
8/10
Even though I have not read the previous books in this series I really enjoyed this book. I'm sure a few references would have made more sense to me if I had seen the glossary in the back prior to starting, but because I was reading on an e-reader, I didn't realize if was there until I finished.
What I liked:
Noah the male lead is sexy, hunted and maybe contaminated by the evil forces he is fighting against. (not sure if the possible contamination was cover in a previous book or not.) He and a band of warriors are fighting against powerful evil....enter Willow the female lead, she and Noah have a shared history that didn't end well. Now he needs her help to defeat the evil that wants to take over his very being. The story was exciting even if I knew where is was going almost from the start.
What I didn't like:
Didn't find out what happened to Damon. I liked him and wanted more. I felt like the ending was kind of weak... kinda and everyone lived happily ever after, the end.
Even though I have not read the previous books in this series I really enjoyed this book. I'm sure a few references would have made more sense to me if I had seen the glossary in the back prior to starting, but because I was reading on an e-reader, I didn't realize if was there until I finished.
What I liked:
Noah the male lead is sexy, hunted and maybe contaminated by the evil forces he is fighting against. (not sure if the possible contamination was cover in a previous book or not.) He and a band of warriors are fighting against powerful evil....enter Willow the female lead, she and Noah have a shared history that didn't end well. Now he needs her help to defeat the evil that wants to take over his very being. The story was exciting even if I knew where is was going almost from the start.
What I didn't like:
Didn't find out what happened to Damon. I liked him and wanted more. I felt like the ending was kind of weak... kinda and everyone lived happily ever after, the end.
Absolutely LOVED this book!!!! I loved the whole series but this one is in the top two favs. It has everything action, romance, love and HOT sex. So sad it is the last one, but the closure is good. Enjoy!
