Hermeneutical Circle

Perfection.

Actual rating: 3.5

Actual rating: 2.5

Wasn't impressed.

To put it quite simply - epic.

Amazing.

The second book in the Jill Kismet series is better than the previous one, in my opinion. Night Shift is full of angst and reminiscence of the past which make the story a little bit slow for my taste, but paint a clear picture of our heroine.Back to Hunter's Prayer - the plot is fantastic. I've never figured out anything in time so all those twists really shocked me. I like the balanced relationship between Saul and Jill. Though Kismet is the boss of the city, she doesn't overshadow her werecougar boyfriend even a little bit. Dustcircle stays placid in most situations, handles Jill's insecurities and decisions really well. Despite the fact that he's a mated werecougar, he's not overwhelmingly protective or controlling in contrast to the usual paranormal male leads.Well, Jill is kick-ass. There's no better word to describe her properly. She's competent, but remains humane with her struggles and rash decisions. She also has a potty mouth - the only thing I don't like in this book. I may be a little old-fashioned, yet I don't it's necessary to swear so frequently in these circumstances. It kind of hurts my sensibilities.Poor Perry, the devil we know. I sort of pity him because if you look closer, you can see that he does a lot of things in order to protect and not to mention woo Kismet. (Think of the ring and the necklace.) Unfortunately, he rubs her the wrong way and makes a lot of mistakes. He's sweet in a twisted way...

I really wanted to like this book. Why? Because it has all the right features to make an interesting love story. Firstly, there's the heroine who would rather stay blissfully normal as opposed to her quirky family. Then, secondly, we have our broodingly handsome leading man with a heart-wrenching past in his baggage. Add a dash of Greek mythology and another take on vampires in order to create an arresting world...Unfortunately, Sherrilyn Kenyon didn't succeed in my case. Although I found the first chapter intriguing - when Amanda actually deals with her emotions - the following part of the novel is lacking in quality in my opinion. The tendencies, trains of thought are abruptly cut off by some fangirling/-boying moments which make the book strangely incoherent. The moment Kyrian comes into play, everything turns out to be jumbled or hazy. There were times when I couldn't even fathom what was going on between the characters - e. g. when Amanda offends Hunter and he disappears into the shower. Eventually he continues to show her around the house, but we don't if she really hurt his feeling or not. Of course, later on we get some clue about his state of mind; however, I have to say too little, too late.The narration is in multiple POVs and I always felt while reading as if Amanda's parts are longer than Kyrian's. Maybe it's my personal belief, but I think the length of each POVs should be consistent with each other's. I was very curious about Kyrian's thoughts and reactions, but sadly he mostly broods and wails in his segments. In the end I became genuinely irritated with all the constant she's-so-hot-I-can't-get-her-because-I-don't-have-a-soul, I-can't-trust-any-women-since-my-wife-betrayed-me and I-don't-understand-this-attraction-between-us episodes. Don't get me wrong, it's okay to mention or mull over matters, but continuously? It's overwhelming. And boring. I mostly had the same problems with Amanda's parts too. All of her thoughts are about Kyrian - first love and all - though my biggest issue is with her lines in the dialogues. The author wants to show us an awesome, smart and witty character in these situations and fails to do so. Whenever she attempts to say something funny it sounds forced, like "Hey, yummy leather guy?". Who on earth says that to an unconscious person? Amanda, apparently. Still, it doesn't make her brave or daring. In my view, she's perilously close to being a Mary-Sue. She's a powerful sorceress, recklessly brave, pretty hot and very, very empathetic...The secondary characters were okay. To be honest, I was more interested in them and the whole Dark hunter world than our couple's on-going romance. Furthermore, Ms Kenyon gets a brownie point from me for the realistic characterisation of the gods. They're this inhumane and power hungry in the myths too.So this was my first Sherrilyn Kenyon book and I probably won't read any of her works in the near future. (I admittedly speed-read the rest of the novel (42%) which I haven't done in a long time.)

A rollercoaster of emotions. Neil. Loyalty. Friendship.

Amazing, refreshing, well-paced book with an incredible plot twist. I simply adore the characters, everybody is whole and has realistic traits even if they are a member of the Watkins household. Julie is a believable, balanced figure, terribly selfless and humane. She's just a "normal" girl- though you have to define normal for yourself - she likes shopping, flirting, hanging out, etc. What makes her special is her actions concerning the relationships. She breaks it off with Seth when it becomes clear that she's falling in love with Finn which is totally admirable. How many heroines have we seen, who ran into another pair of arms, when everything had gone wrong? I love Matty. After the Christmas scene I sort of figured out - on the way to my extra Math lessons - that he's Finn, and the original person is dead. Tiny hints were hidden in the book - like Matt is always online and in time to write to Julie, also the name "Finn is God" is very telling. (Finn's in another sphere with God.) But it still managed to shock me when it was confirmed in the book. (And not to talk about the small heart attack I had on the tram when I compiled the evidence.)The ending is okay, I missed a little bit of emotional conversation about what had happened, but regardless I'm giddy and impressed relating to the closure of Flat Finn and this wonderful story.

Simply amazing.

I just finished it. My heart is swelling in my chest. Simply incredible.