The book starts out on a less than happy note: Nash is battling his addiction to Demon's Breath, Kaylee is struggling with her conflicting emotions. On the one hand, she is feeling betrayed, shell-shocked and hurt by what Nash did - on the other, she still has feelings for him. Just what these
feelings are, she's not sure of herself, though.
Things get even more complicated when a new girl…mehrThe book starts out on a less than happy note: Nash is battling his addiction to Demon's Breath, Kaylee is struggling with her conflicting emotions. On the one hand, she is feeling betrayed, shell-shocked and hurt by what Nash did - on the other, she still has feelings for him. Just what these feelings are, she's not sure of herself, though.
Things get even more complicated when a new girl starts at their school: Sabine, Nash's brash, abrasive ex - only she's technically NOT his ex because they never broke up! She's determined to win Nash back, at any cost, and she's not afraid to go through Kaylee if she has to... And as it soon turns out, Sabine is more than simply human. She's a Nightmare - literally.
When teachers start dying, Kaylee is starting to wonder if Sabine doesn't have anything to do with it.
Pros:
I really liked Sabine and enjoyed her as a character, despite her in-your-face aggression! She shakes up the dynamics of the established relationships, and she is a complex, interesting character. Yes, she is pretty ruthless, but I get the feeling that there's a lot more about Sabine then she lets on.
The author cranked the suspense up a notch since the last book: things are looking increasingly dire at Kaylee's school. People act out their volatile emotions, chaos reigns... I couldn't help but be reminded of Buffy and the Hellmouth under her school, but that's not a bad thing! I'm getting more and more curious why Avari is so obsessed with Kaylee.
I also liked how the friendship between Tod and Kaylee developed. Not everybody is going to agree, but imo they have a very interesting chemistry going on.
Alex is a character that grew on me quickly; I'm happy that the author included him into this story.
Contras:
The conflict between Nash and Kaylee turns around and around and around in never-ending circles. They both made mistakes, but neither can truly forgive and move on. It gets tiresome after a while, and Kaylee honestly got on my nerves a bit with her "now I want him, now I don't" attitude.
I also didn't like how Kaylee was blamed (and sometimes blamed herself) for Nash's addiction. Yes, she played a part in it, but a) it was an accident, and b) it was still Nash who went to extremes to feed his need for Demon's Breath, and he needs to take responsibility for it. At this point, their relationship is simply disfunctional.
Too much of the story hinges on Kaylee's conflicted attachment to Nash. She comes across far less independant and kick-ass than in the previous books!
Summary:
Despite all the flaws, I enjoyed this book much more than the previous one. When I'd finished it, I immediately started reading the next one because I couldn't wait to see how the story would continue!
