ARC Review: Stygian by Sherrilyn Kenyon
I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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Book Info
Released: August 28th 2018
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Dark Hunter #29
Pages: 670
“…parts of this book were still good.”
~ Under the Covers
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
I think I’ve put off reviewing this book long enough. I’ve been avoiding it because I’ve had conflicting feelings about it. I have been a big fan of Miss Kenyon’s work since I discovered her books years back but as of late, her books are not as good as they used to be.
Now, don’t get me wrong, parts of this book were still good. To start, Stygian is the hero I expected him to be in more ways than one. His story is not as good as Acheron or Styxx but I liked him. He’s powerful, a bit broken, and sexy to boot. You get to know Urian inside and out. His childhood love, current love interest, and family history revealed for readers to see. My favorite is his part in Acheron and Styxx’s life, and how he contributed to their story. I loved the drama, the action, and even the retelling of certain scenes from previous books. I especially loved reliving parts of Styxx’s story. I will admit there’s one particular part that still had me balling.
However. And this is where I felt most conflicted with. Almost the second half of the book was a retelling of scenes from previous books. At first, I was happy to relive scenes that hit me emotionally, but the familiar scenes kept going from one scene to the next. Retellings from previous books don’t usually bother me especially when they are told in different POVs. For the most part, most of the scenes are scenes I’ve enjoyed before. Unfortunately, a big chunk of this book felt like it was exact texts I’ve read before. It felt too much of a deja vu. Despite liking those scenes, I still felt robbed.
Another issue I had and this is a big spoiler, so if you don’t like spoilers, please stop reading now.
.
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If you read the previous books, you know that there was a build up to Urian finding the love of his life, Phoebe. Unfortunately, after eons of mourning and yearning for her, he ends up with another. I’m not sure if I was resistant to the new romance because I was rooting for Phoebe and Urian from the start but the ending just didn’t sit right with me. All the heartaches Urian went through to get to Phoebe to only end it without a backward glance was just too easy. Way easy.
Despite my complaints, I’m still rating this book two and a half to three stars for the good parts of this book. Will I keep reading Kenyon? Most likely. I still like this world she brings me in and I’ll take any Acheron/Styxx page time anyway I can get.
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I coblog and review here at Under the Covers and occasionally review for Hot Listens.I love to read PNR, UF, Contemporary, New Adult, and Romantic Suspense. Occasionally, I will venture to Erotica, BDSM reads and rarely Historical Romance. There are some sub-genres that I don’t always enjoy, but I’m open to stepping out of my comfort zone.For the most part, as long as there’s a hint of romance, I’m pretty much in.
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Thanks for the review, I haven’t tried this series.
I’ve struggled with a few of her books lately. This is really disappointing because I’ve wanted to read urian’s story for a long time.
Sorry it didn’t work for you Angela
Let’s face it after reading Acheron and Styxx both epic reads, everything seems to pale in comparison. It could be also the fact that why we love kenyon dragons maybe it’s time to move on. Ty! Angela for your honest review. I love dragons so I’m enjoying these last few books. Shared on all my socials!!??
Thank you for your honest review! From what I have seen on Amazon, you aren’t the only one feeling robbed. What worries me about the future of these books is the fact that she did this 2 books ago. There was only about 45 new pages. I am reluctant to buy Stygian even though I have been a huge fan of the Dark Hunters for years. I don’t understand how her editor or publisher allowed this. I’m hoping this isn’t a new trend and that she takes her time to give us an ORIGINAL book.
Signed,
A Sad Fan