Book Review: Stolen Nights

Since I didn't finish my list from last year, I'll try to finish it before starting the next list.

Anyway, back to the review. I read Infinite Days a few years ago and decided to just go to GR to refresh myself as opposed to rereading before reading the sequel, Stolen Nights. Stolen Nights, takes over where Infinite Days left off, Lenah had finished a ritual where she turns her former coven-mate, Vicken, back into a human. As it turns out, this ritual beings a vampire 'queen' from Lenah's past into her new world along with some magical beings.

Oooo. 

Before I get into anything, I'd like to stress how disappointed I was in Stolen. It was so hard for me to finish and I practically forced myself--and risked a hefty library fine--in order to finish it my reasons:

1. because I'm trying to make my 'read' list bigger than my 'couldn't finish' list,
2. this is tandem with 1, a good book reviewer should finish every book they start/consider reviewing,
3. to find out why Odette is trying to kill Lenah.

Keeping to my typical review, I'll start with characters. We'll talk about our protagonist: Lenah. The Lenah I remembered was kick ass. She could hold her own--and did--against three vampires. This new Lenah is just... Ugh. Whine whine whine gripe gripe gripe. I know her 'soulmate' is actually alive and well but come on. Drop your relationship with a great new guy just to try to be with him? Seems logical. /sarcasm

Rhode. I wasn't really a fan of him. Not only was there no chemistry behind his romance with Lenah, but he also acted like a--and pardon my french--douchebag. At the beginning, it seemed pretty damn obvious he didn't want to be with her but as it went on and Maizel pulled the 'they're-actually-soulmates-and-can-see-into-each-other's-minds' thing, I still didn't see it. Actually, I just got more and more frustrated with him. Telling her they can't be together then flipping out when she did go after someone willing.

Justin. I found more chemistry between Lenah and Justin than I did with Rhode, and that wasn't because they actually slept together. It wasn't much--seeing as it seemed like Lenah was trailing him along--but it was more than Rhode and Lenah's romance. I also found his fate at the end of the novel bittersweet. Interesting twist, yet it gave me a sadness that meant the innocence that I found with his character was destroyed.

The three piece: Claudia, Kate and Tracy. Kate died pretty early on and I felt next to nothing in relation to her death. Claudia was next and I felt pretty bad but I kinda knew it was coming. Tracy... Tracy seemed barely there in the beginning--go figure, her best friend had died--but as the book went on--and after Claudia's death--I grew to like her more and felt bad for her situation.

Odette. I didn't fully understand her reasoning behind trying to kill Lenah and secure the spell. I didn't fully understand what her last night as a human had to do with her becoming a heartless and sadistic Vampire Queen. With the end,

Plot, I liked the bittersweet ending, I liked the subtle hints through out the novel that hinted at fates of characters (*cough*Justin*coughcough*) yet Lenah's whining got old. Really old. Because of it, it took me almost two months to read. Over all, I feel the novel was less than I expected it to be. And, from what I've read of other reviews on Goodreads, Maizel changed the book since the excerpt was released at the end of Infinite Days.

Two stars and a half out of five stars.

[Edit 3/12/14: Found out yesterday that there will be a third book in this series, Eternal Dawn. After reading the synopsis, I will not be continuing/reviewing this series for a third book.]