The Descendants by @KKAllen_Author (Review)

Genre:	Young Adult, Mythology
Publication Date:	November 17, 2015
Pages:	426
Published By:	Author
Website	K.K. Allen Website
My review copy:	ARC for honest review

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Synopsis

Winter in Apollo Beach is anything but a wonderland for Kat and her friends as their Enchanted community comes face to face with Erebus and his latest act of evil that strikes close to the heart. There's no turning back. Erebus has his sights set on Kat and using her to access the mysterious energy source. Kat will do anything to keep her friends and family safe . . . even if it means surrendering herself to the God of Darkness.

Meanwhile, Kat is finally picking up the pieces of her broken heart and moving on until all goes awry at the Arctic Winter Masquerade Ball. Everything she's worked for is shattered when she lands in the arms of someone who will divert her path . . . and heart . . . once again.

Quotes

  What is it with the Summer family and tragic fires?  My grandfather died in a house fire, I was almost killed by a bonfire, and my poor dad survived a chemical explosion.

  I was so selfish when it came to Alec.  I wasn't ready to be with him, but I didn't want anyone else to have him.  If I had just been honest with myself, and with him, none of this would be happening right now.

  Nothing could have prepared me for this moment because this moment was never supposed to come.  I'd accepted the possibility of Erebus claiming my body as his, but I never imagined he could take her.

My Thoughts

  Allen really outdid herself with this one. It's hard going into a third book with expectations and no way of knowing if you will be happy with how it all ends.  This also makes reviewing this book super hard on me because there is so much that I would like to share that I just can't without ruining all three books.  Even my quotes remained diverse in order to protect the amazing twists and turns that this book took, in order to ensure you get the best possible experience. 

  

  I mentally divided this book up.  The first half, and then the second half.  Saying this may be a waste of breath as many people do it, but I found a clear line with The Descendants.  The first half seemed set to really pulling out Katrina and her relationships.  I wont say with who but it wasn't just the romance part, but also family.  This is also where Allen caught us up on the year that had passed between books (flashbacks included).  The second half was where all of the action happened, and we really saw the what and why.  However, I don't want you to mistake my words and believe that any part of this was a slow read.  Allen does things in such a way that you are drawn to each page, and desire to know what happens on the next one.  I have never had a complaint about pacing with these novels and this was no different.  I just found that Allen made sure the needed relationships and mystery was added before she tore into the juicy bits of all of the secrets.

  What we all really want  to see as we read and come to love a character is their growth.  Katrina grows in each book.  Sometimes she gets more depth in an area she already showed improvement on, and other times she just takes that next step towards becoming something greater.  Katrina has the sensibility to question things before she leaps, but she is also human and sometimes makes decisions based on what her heart says, not her head.  She also has this beautiful ability to forgive people and see past the hurt that has been caused, and accepting that sometimes people make the wrong decision but find their way back to the right.  I love that she is both strong willed, devoted to those around her and had developed a sense of community for a place she was learning was really home.  Katrina is a character that I would love to read more of, or maybe see where life takes her when she's older...

  I was happy how everything turned out romantically in this one.  There were moments that I though I might not enjoy the romance, then some irritation built, but that wasn't so much Katrina and being indecisive but more the circumstances.  With much of the start of this one often coming back to the romance and how Katrina was going to handle things, I had a lot of time to decide how I wanted them to turn out.  There were times that my heart went out to one person or the other, and other times that I thought Katrina was going to lose more than it was worth.  Thankfully I was often wrong, but that is another kudos to this author, or maybe it's due to my reading anxiety when I really want things to go the way I want them to....

  The Descendants was worth the wait.  With an ending that wrapped everything up but left things wide open for another book, I am sure that I am only one of many that will eagerly await more from this author.  These books created a place that I would love to see and characters that will not be easily forgotten.  I have no problem recommending these books to people that enjoy mythology and want something different.  Being honest I would just recommend them to anyone that wants a good read, and something that steps out of the norm (oh and still wants a stunning cover).

Posted by Tiffany