Descent

As part of Keeley's W.H.I.R.T.Y. read-a-thon, I'm bringing a slight variation of "Why Haven't I Reviewed That Yet"!

I intend to bring an extra highlight to all those books that I have read, but not posted a review for.

Between the 11th - 17th May, I will be posting a new book every day.

The first in my W.H.I.R.T.Y. week is Descent, by L.A. Starkey.  I joined in her blog tour last month, and included reviews of Deceived and Destroyed.  I'm a terrible person, and really need to finish the set.  So read on and enjoy!

Descent (Soul Keeper #3)

by L.A. Starkey

4 out of 5

Synopsis
The path of truth lies hidden deep, 

To find the light the climb is steep. 

But in despair resolve is sound, 

What once was lost will now be found. 



All is lost and the prophecy seems null and void. Samantha is dead to the living world, and Marcus and Nicolas completely destroyed, but things aren’t always as they seem. To save the one they love, the boys will have to traverse the Descent, a darkness that all will enter and few will ever leave. The interference of gods and goddesses on the chessboard of blood has left the door open for a new player to enter the scene, and she holds the most powerful gift of all—sacrificial love. 

Will the exit clause be invoked, dissolving of the chain that binds the trio together? 

Will the Descent be the final setting for their love story or will they rise again? 

As the curtain draws closed on this tale of old, who will rise and who will fall? 

And what if their choice is no choice at all?



Review
With the "death" of the Soul Keeper the race is on to rescue Sam from Hades, and to finally complete a millennia old prophecy - will Sam chose Marcus or Nick; will Zeus or his titan brother Prometheus succeed?

I have loved this series, it has been an awful lot of fun.  Despite it being an adventure on an epic scale, and very serious; it has maintained a good level of humour throughout.

This third and final instalment definitely holds its own.  The many threads of the story come together, and its revealed exactly how deeply all the plotting and counter-plotting goes.  As well as "The Big Answer", you also get answers over all those hidden drives and schemes that were built up in the first two books.
I loved the Hades and Persephone storyline - I have to say, I wish that there was more about them.  Or at least, more about where they go from here, you get the feeling that the dynamics in their relationship really shifted in the end.

If I'm very honest, even though this was a good book in its own right, I wasn't as smitten with it as I was with its predecessors.  With Sam being caught between life and death, and her mind losing focus, naturally she is no longer our key narrator.  The others step up to the mark, but I missed Sam.
And with a lot more of the focus shifting to all of the gods that are manipulating the story, I sometimes found it confusing keeping track.  Also, on a more minor note, I wasn't thrilled with the unvarying voices of the gods.  I know that it keeps it very accessible, but it felt like they could be transferred into a generic high school setting.  Ok, with all the torture, murder and scheming, maybe college instead.

The only other thing that... not quite upset me, but definitely puzzled me, was the premise that was set out in the first book when the prophecy was awoken.  That the fate of humankind rested upon a teenage girl choosing between two brothers.  Until she chooses, the fate in charge of creating life on earth, is in a coma, putting the human race at risk.
The rest of the trilogy quickly corrects this threat, and moves on to other games.  It just made me wonder why it had so much emphasis put on the consequences in the first place.

What I did love was the ending.  I can't imagine a better outcome.  I didn't want it to stop, though!  I wanted to see what happens with Sam and Elos - what are their powers?  Do they ever take the throne?

Anyway, I would definitely recommend this series to everyone - especially as the first book Deceived is available free!

Goodreads link
Amazon.co.uk