Thursday, October 2, 2008

Acheron by Sherrilyn Kenyon

I love this woman's books. They are romantic, violent, funny and heartache-inducing. Ash has been one of my favorite characters for a while so I surprised myself after I bought this book - I didn't want to read it. Chomping at the bit for months, this book was one of my most anticipated yet when I finally got my hands on it, I put it on my bookshelf and tried to ignore it. I knew Ash's life was going to be unpleasant in the least and I also knew that it would be the end of one chapter in Kenyon's books. Leaving Acheron behind and focusing on Jaden next seems like it's almost a betrayal. I know, I'm being dramatic and all but still. Anyway...

Acheron is not a nice story. Being hated by almost everybody who knew of his existence, Acheron endured so many evils in his first twenty-one years. Being murdered was almost a blessing. Ash's first life takes up over 400 pages of this tome, which I will admit does take away from the telling of his relationship with Tory. But, this book is called Acheron, not some other fluffy title like all the other characters (read: dark-hunters) got so I will forgive Mrs. Kenyon. I don't think I would have wanted to finish it if I didn't know there would be a payout at the end. And it was a good one. I like Tory but I was surprised that she was The One. She wasn't terribly fantastic (i.e. a goddess) like Artemis but maybe that was the point. Acheron is the biggest, baddest being in the universe and his mate is a human female, albeit the one who discovers Atlantis for real. You gotta love irony. I loved that Kenyon made Ash the most vulnerable emotionally out of all her men; not everybody can put away their past and forget it to move on. In all the other books I never considered his appearance to be armor; I just figured he liked to be that way.

It would have been nice, I suppose, to have spent a little more time with Tory to learn more about her past, stuff that didn't necessarily involve her family or Atlantis. Whatever her history, one of my favorite parts of the book was when she put Artemis in her place. Halleleujah. Oh, and I loved the part where she learns about Ash. Whoever heard about somebody not being able to hold their Sprite? Also, I have a hard time listening to Nickelback's "Savin' Me" without getting choked up a little. Overall, I have to say that I enjoyed this book but I'm not sure I'll reread it. Maybe just the second half.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I actually started off the series with Acheron and have been hooked ever since. I'm almost finished reading all the Dark-Hunter books and am not ashamed to admit that that makes me a little sad :(...but we've got, what - a month left until Stryker's book comes out? Seems like forever...

Jen said...

Hey, thanks for commenting. The first Dark-Hunter book I read was Dark Side of the Moon. After that, I was hooked. It makes me sad too that she's moving on to focus on Jaden but I am interested to see what she does with Stryker since he's been so awful so far. Come on November 4. :)

Anonymous said...

Yes, I can't wait to see how she's going to make Stryker seem appealing. Although I will admit, the excerpt seemed intriguing. And I can't wait 'til Murder Game is released, either...too much waiting! How are those Kim Harrison books - worth getting into?

Jen said...

I love Kim Harrison's books but they're not like Kenyon's or Feehan's books (not really romances) although the element is there. I would recommend them to anyone who likes the urban fantasy genre. Did you read Kenyon's Arthurian novels? I think the third one comes out next fall.

Anonymous said...

No, but that's a good idea...even if it's only 2 books. I'm hoping to find another series I'll love as much...I couldn't really get into L.A. Banks. Guess I just have to keep trying!