Title: Endless Knight
Author: Kresley Cole
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: 1st October 2013
Source: Bought
Rating: 5 out of 5
Description: In
the second book of the Arcana Chronicles Evie has now fully come into her
powers as the tarot Empress. And Jackson was there to see it all. In the
aftermath of killing Arthur, the tarot Alchemist, Evie realizes that a war is
brewing between the other teens that, following the apocalypse, have been given
powers and its kill or be killed. Things get even more complicated when Evie
meets Death, the mysterious, sexy Endless Knight. Somehow the Empress and Death
share a romantic history - one that Evie can't remember, but Death can't
forget. She is drawn to the Endless Knight, but is in love with Jack.
Determined to discover why she's been granted these powers, Evie struggles to
accept her place in a prophecy that will either save the world, or completely
destroy it
Endless Knight is a seductive
tale that fully captures your imagination and embraces the darker side of human
nature. With dubious characters, sizzling romance and a peculiar
post-apocalytpic setting this haunting story is about the murderous game
between the Arcana. Poison Princess was a standout book last year and Endless
Knight defiantly lives up to its predecessor. The past is repeating itself but
the players are slightly altered. Murder, death and survival are on the cards
and drive the story towards its massive cliff-hanger. If that was not enough to contend with, there are also
numerous Bagmen and Cannibals to battle with. The characters are not who they
seem. Secrets are unravelled and alliances are changed. Nothings black and
white anymore. Instead it’s just a big ominous shade of grey. If Poison
Princess was about Evie learning about her powers than Endless Knight is about
Evie learning about her past and how to play the game. The twists keep coming,
the romance is even hotter and nothing is as it seems.
I am in awe of Kersley Cole’s
storytelling. Her writing is haunting, witty and engrossing. The story fits
together seamlessly and is intricately detailed. Poison princess started with a
bang but Endless Knight has a slow start.
Picking up right after Evie’s battle with the Alchemist, Endless Knight takes
a while to get into, but once you do, the story hits the ground running. I love
the pace of this book, there is always a revelation or action around every
corner. Cole makes sure that there is never a dull moment. Evie is now playing
the game and to survive she needs to kill Death, make alliances, escape the
cannibals and most importantly she needs to stay alive. Revelations lurk behind
every corner and Matthews’s cryptic statements get pretty gloomy. What I love about this story is there is
actually a war in which the players are ruthless and cunning. Its not just a bunch of
teenagers playacting at warfare, they are all out for blood and murder is
prevalent. Alliances are made, strategy is formed,
hostages are taken and everything is turned on its head all in a hostile
landscape littered with threats at every turn.
Like the title suggests, Endless
Knight is about Death and his very complicated relationship with Evie. We’ve
seen him as the ruthless winner of the game for centuries past. The player that
everyone fears. The one Evie’s
sworn to kill. This time around,
Death is not who we expect him to be and is the biggest revelation in the book.
We get to learn a great deal about him and no it’s not just all about his
handsome looks. Cole sands down his edges and makes him relatable. This book introduces a love triangle
and Cole deftly explores the line between love and hate and how complicated
relationships can be. The triangle
is compelling because the change and confusion in Evie’s feelings develop over
time and it all makes sense given the revelations. I want to know she picks. Without
giving anything away, lets just say that Death is a prominent point in this
love triangle.
Jackson plays a smaller role in
this book as Death takes a front seat. He bugged me a bit more in this book
than the last one. It takes a while for him to accept Evie’s powers but he
always protects her. We also get
to learn some of his secrets. In fact we learn something about all the major
players that turns this game on its head. Jackson, Death, Evie and Matthew all
have secret. When these secrets come to light, you will look at all of these
characters in a different way. Evie’s becoming more like the Empresses of the
past. I love that you can see shades of the past Empresses in Evie, but she
still remains herself and is not a carbon copy of the ones in the past. She
becomes more of a leader and is determined to take Death out. She embraces her role as the Empress and
comes to terms with what she had to do to win the battles she enters. She is
ruthless and uncompromising. She has a lot to deal with and everyone’s secrets
are a hard burden for her to bear.
What Cole does very well is
character development. Each character has their own strengths and weaknesses.
No character is morally black or white. They’re all in the grey and no one person
is right. They all struggle with
the choices they need to make and who they are becoming, especially Evie. Evie
has decisions to make. Decisions that could change the nature of the game. Along
with Death we get to meet new Arcana cards. Lark was my favourite new
character. Her connection with animal was very fascinating. Such a cool power
to have. This book provides plenty of information about the game and what each
card is capable of. Finn continues to be entertaining with his trickster
nature. Matthew and his crypticness are back, and boy does that kid have a
talent for twisting everything around.
A twisty turny post -apocalyptic
story about the Arcana. A great sequel with a really cruel cliff-hanger. I can’t
wait to see where this story goes next.
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