Review: Endless Knight

Title:  Endless Knight
Series:  The Arcana Chronicles #2
Author:  Kresley Cole
Published:  October 1, 2013 by Simon & Schuster Books
Source:  Bought

Shocking Secrets

Evie has fully come into her powers as the Tarot Empress, and Jack was there to see it all. She now knows that the teens who've been reincarnated as the Tarot are in the throes of an epic battle. It's kill or be killed, and the future of mankind hangs in the balance.

Unexpected Allies

With threats lurking around every corner, Evie is forced to trust her newfound alliance. Together they must fight not only other Arcana, but also Bagmen zombies, post-apocalyptic storms, and cannibals.

Gut-Wrenching Treachery

When Evie meets Death, things get even more complicated. Though falling for Jack, she's drawn to the dangerous Endless Knight as well. Somehow the Empress and Death share a history, one that Evie can't remember—but Death can't forget.

My Review:  If you are a follower of mine on twitter, then you'll know that for that past however many months since I finished the first book, Poison Princess, I've been going crazy waiting for this one.  The time crawled back at a terribly slow pace and that allowed me to become more and more excited.  I was worried that perhaps I had built up this book too much in my head and that it wouldn't be as good as I expected.  

I had nothing to worry about.  

Endless Knight completely blew me away.  This book was so amazing, I'm having trouble coming up with what exactly to say to describe it.  It was a book that I happily stayed up all night to read.  I was at the edge of my seat the entire time.  There was so much tension and new revelations; I was never bored.  The plot was fast moving for the most part and even with the few parts when not much was happening, I was still completely engaged because Kresley Cole used those moments to help us learn more about this world that she's created.  Which is terrifying by the way.  There's so many different threats coming for our characters that I wasn't quite sure how they would make it through.  

I loved seeing Evie embrace her new powers as the Empress.  She was so awesome!  With these new abilities, she was able to hold her own in this world that had previously controlled her.  She was more confident, as well.  She was the same girl as before but 100 times better.  Stronger, more sure of herself, and unwilling to let anyone get the best of her or hurt her friends.  There was a lot of twists and turns that shook her, however (and me too).  So much more is learned in this installment and I am absolutely floored.  I had not expected anything like this to happen.  It changed my whole perspective on the story and both of the love interests.  Yes, I said both of them.  

Trust me, I went into this book firmly telling myself that I would stay loyal to Jack.  You know, Jack + Evie = forever.  But then . . . Death.  We spend a lot more time with Death in Endless Knight and we are given a chance to see into his past and see who is really is (besides the killer that has been hunting Evie and her friends).  He's so much more complicated than I had believed with layers that still have yet to be uncovered.  I still love Jack.  But Death is in the running now; something I never saw coming.  There are things we learn about both these boys that had my mind spinning and my heart breaking.  

My only complaint (and it's just a teeny, tiny one) is that the ending moved a bit too quickly for my liking.  The sudden shift in the relationship between two certain characters had me reeling.  I wish that there had been a tad more easing.  However, it took hardly anything away from the story.  

I really can't do this book justice in a review.  It was better than the best dessert I can imagine and that's saying something because I really love sweets.  Endless Knight grabs your attention from the very first page and doesn't even let you go after it's finished.  I'm still hooked and eagerly waiting for the next book.  I need it!  Like, yesterday!  

Five Cards