This is all I can provide right now....




Ok – anyone who knows me knows of my love for the Something Strange and Deadly series. Ever since I finished book two, I have been patiently waiting for the final book of the series and imagine my extreme reaction when my lovely friend @book_junkee says “Hey, I just happen to have a copy…do you want to read it?” (I am paraphrasing here but it went something like that.) Anyway….OF COURSE I wanted to read it and dropped everything the second it came in the mail. Sadly, I have to give it back so….I do have to write my review. I will leave you with my images and spoiler tag the rest of it as it doesn’t come out until July and I don’t want to ruin the story for anyone. Please know that if you do unhide this review, you might read something that gives something away. Consider yourself warned.

Spoiler

So…Eleanor is with the Spirit Hunters and knows she will need to face Marcus to defeat him. In addition to that challenge, she needs to figure out how to control her powers. She still thinks her magic is something that will help her and the Spirit Hunters tend to disagree. They continue to butt heads because of her use of the magic and of course, Oliver’s presence.

A lot happens in this final book…so much, I don’t know if I can talk about it all. Jie is taken by Marcus, the group heads to Egypt to prevent Marcus from raising the Black Pullet, and Eleanor and Daniel’s relationship definitely takes a step in the right direction (in my opinion). Although I will talk about some things here, I refuse to give anything away.

Eleanor is still a great character. Like anyone, she has her good qualities and her bad qualities but I think what I really like about her is that she isn’t afraid to face anything head on – regardless of whether she is afraid of it or not and she is smart. Don’t get me wrong, there are times where if I were her friend I would have asked her what the heck she was doing but in the whole scheme of things, she still came through. There is definitely some growth with her as well. She faces some tough decisions. She also grows into her magic and finally figures out her relationships with everyone around her.

Oliver….Ollie….he continues to push Eleanor to help him and then release him. Despite this, and whether he likes it or not, he continues to develop a friendship with Eleanor. He is there for her through everything and not just because she commands it. He absolutely changes through this book and I loved seeing the growth of his character and that is all I can say about him. Just so you can see how, I will leave you with this image of him.

I looked up to Oliver with a smile. “You survived, “ I said.
He stepped to me and brushed a light, almost casual kiss over my forehead. “As did you.”

Now…Daniel. You know how much I love him right? If not, please see my other reviews. I had a lot of stickies in this book and about 95% of them are parts related to Daniel….and I’m not ashamed. There is soooo much I love about him. He is willing to do whatever it takes to protect those he loves – especially Jie, Joseph, and Eleanor. When he and Eleanor are finally up front about their feelings and what they want, it all starts to come together. With Marcus still out there, Daniel knows things are dangerous for everyone. Because of that, he wants to be honest and up front with Eleanor. When she finally comes to her senses…it was the BEST! Despite the fact that this is a galley and may not even have all the same content as the final copy, I will still include some swoon from Daniel.

”We don’t need music.” Narrowing the space between us, he slid one arm tentatively around my waist. When I didn’t pull away, he grew braver and tugged me close. Then his left hand gently clasped my right. “The last time we danced,” he said, “at that ball in Paris, you were bewitched. I want you to have a new memory of dancin’ with me.” He eased into a slow one-two-three, one-two-three. “And” – he briefly touched his forehead to mine – “I want to have a new memory too.”

Ok, ok…I don’t think I really gave anything away but hopefully this review also doesn't come across as too vague. Just trust me when I say, if you have not started this series you should probably do that now. This one has everything – zombies, swoony boys, action, demons….I could go on and on here. You can bet that no matter what Susan Dennard writes next, it will be on my to read shelf immediately and I applaud her on a wonderful close to this series. There were so many feels and I’m not ashamed to admit it…a few tears but I loved it and wish I could continue reading about these characters and their stories. I will leave you with this as I feel it sums everything up perfectly for me.