:sigh: I was a firm Opal/Kade fan (because I like Kade), and I was never an Opal/Devlin fan, but by Book 3 I would have been happier if Opal had remained alone, or at the very very least, not jumped straight into a relationship with Devlin.
I understand your points, and they make sense, and of course I can tell fantasy from reality, but it seemed so quick and easy for Opal to jump into a huge relationship with him. MVS did work hard to redeem(ish) Devlin, and there was genuine change there, but given the timeframe and the intensity of the torture and betrayal she felt at Devlin's hands, I didn't believe that she suddenly trusted him so implicitly.
Though I also had issue with Kade--much as I love the boy he went up and down and all around in characterization.
I can understand why MVS would want to make the romance different from Valek/Yelena's--we didn't need a dejavu rehash with Opal instead of Yelena, but I didn't feel she justified the shift enough.
But that's just me. I still bought the book--because other than the romance element I enjoyed it a lot--and I'm still a huge time fan of MVS' its just this is the first time I felt rage towards a romantic pairing.
There's definitely a weird line, and my fuzzy memory as well as my bias in knowing the author may make me more okay with this than I would be if I didn't know the author at all. :)
heh yeah I've met and talked with Maria a lot in the last four years (she signs so close by!) so when I first finished the book I was like 'oh god oh god' and I couldn't even begin to form an opinion on it. My one side of my brain kept screaming 'But its MARIA V SNYDER. YOU LOVE HER.' and my other side kept saying 'OMG GET IT AWAY WTH'.
If this had been another author, as soon as I knew it was heading in that direction (which upon the second re-read I realized the groundwork was there as soon as she thought Devlin was attractive without cringing in shame) I would have dropped the book and ran far far away. Its because I like MVS so much and I enjoy her writing so much that I powered through and gave myself some time to really think before writing my review.
Which still almost borders on ranty after seven re-writes ::sigh::
Hey, ranty isn't bad. If an author knows how much the reviewer likes their work as a whole but said reviewer still has a problem, it can be seen as a teaching tool. A smart author (and Snyder's smart) is going to see those comments and most likely incorporate those issues into future books. It's not saying she would've changed her pairing of Opal and Devlin, but she may have addressed it in a different way, you know?
True. I made sure to mention that there was parts of the book I enjoyed and it was a purely biased opinion about why I disliked how the pairing turned out. Truly I didn't think Kade and Opal should be together by mid-Book 3, MVS made it impossible to see that as a functional pairing through Opal's growth and Kade's...steadfastness (I don't want to say 'lack of growth', since Kade in the beginning of the series would have worked out fine with Opal if he had stayed that way, but instead he grew in a different direction).
Its just, at that point I would have taken Opal with Janco over Opal with Devlen if she had to be with someone. Which I guess since technically all the books fall into the 'fantasy romance' category there has to be some sort of resolute romance.
It is my fondest wish that MVS either has all her between book stories bound together in a book or writes one 'Ari and Janco' have adventures book. They've been my favorite characters from the very first book and I get so excited whenever I see them XD
Oh have no fear I'm all over those stories (those are the between book stories I referred to XD). They are so much fun! Plus I think they need a little loving--maybe they aren't as mysterious as Valek or...whatever draws people to Devlen like Devlen or even as grumpily awesome like Kade--but they are something else. Damn entertaining!
I understand your points, and they make sense, and of course I can tell fantasy from reality, but it seemed so quick and easy for Opal to jump into a huge relationship with him. MVS did work hard to redeem(ish) Devlin, and there was genuine change there, but given the timeframe and the intensity of the torture and betrayal she felt at Devlin's hands, I didn't believe that she suddenly trusted him so implicitly.
Though I also had issue with Kade--much as I love the boy he went up and down and all around in characterization.
I can understand why MVS would want to make the romance different from Valek/Yelena's--we didn't need a dejavu rehash with Opal instead of Yelena, but I didn't feel she justified the shift enough.
But that's just me. I still bought the book--because other than the romance element I enjoyed it a lot--and I'm still a huge time fan of MVS' its just this is the first time I felt rage towards a romantic pairing.
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If this had been another author, as soon as I knew it was heading in that direction (which upon the second re-read I realized the groundwork was there as soon as she thought Devlin was attractive without cringing in shame) I would have dropped the book and ran far far away. Its because I like MVS so much and I enjoy her writing so much that I powered through and gave myself some time to really think before writing my review.
Which still almost borders on ranty after seven re-writes ::sigh::
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Its just, at that point I would have taken Opal with Janco over Opal with Devlen if she had to be with someone. Which I guess since technically all the books fall into the 'fantasy romance' category there has to be some sort of resolute romance.
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