Rabid Reading

Oh. Em. Gee. THIS BOOK.

The Grigori Legacy has been a rollercoaster ride for me from the moment I started it. At first (before I knew better), I thought it would follow the usual formula. Yeah, there would be twists and turns unique to the series, but it couldn't be that different than other urban fantasy books I'd read, right?

WRONG.

I know what you're thinking. You're reading the book's blurb and saying to yourself, this girl is nuts, it sounds like standard UF to me! And you'd be right....to a point. There are certain required elements that every good UF must contain, and the Grigori Legacy has them all. Supernatural race? Check. Kickass hero and/or heroine? Check. Good and bad forces duking it out, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance? Double check. A romantic subplot that is teeming with unresolved tension and complications? Yep, got that too. So yes, if you want to call the Grigori Legacy "just another urban fantasy", you could totally do that.

Only...it isn't, and I didn't fully appreciate that until I read Sins of the Lost.

Nothing in this book happened the way I expected it to. Nothing! Linda Poitevin ripped the rug out from under my feet in the very first chapter - the first chapter, people! - and she kept on doing it, over and over, all the way to the end. At no time did I experience a quiet, comfortable, cozy moment - because there weren't any!Everything was topsy-turvy, everything was on the line, and it seemed like every darn thing that could go wrong for the characters (and the world they were trying to save), did. It was CRAZY. I haven't been so off kilter while reading a book since I don't know when. Never, maybe? Yep, that sounds about right!

Don't believe me? Here are some gifs I posted on Goodreads, documenting the state of my emotions as I read Sins of the Lost:


















And yet, despite all the craziness packed within Sins of the Lost's pages, it all made sense. Linda Poitevin didn't just toss random plot developments into a pot and hope it turned into a nice story stew. No, what she did was force me to take a looong step back so I could finally see the forest for the trees. Because that's what I'd been doing for the past two books - focusing on individual trees. I had tunnel vision in the worst way, so caught up in the action or the romance I was rooting for, I wasn't grasping the full picture. I didn't understand just how big the consequences for certain choices were. Well, I get it now. Oh boy, do I ever.

Alex. Poor, poor Alex. I honestly don't know how she was still functioning by the book's end, because if I'd been put through the hell she was, I'd be a whimpering ball of misery on the floor. But that's not who Alex is. She's a survivor, and I have enormous respect for her as a character - and respect for her author, too, for being brave enough to throw Alex into the fiery pit in the first place.

As for the romance and sorta-love triangle that was going on....yeah, I can't talk about it. Seriously, don't even ask. Just thinking about it has me rocking back and forth and looking for a corner.

If I had to pick the biggest surprise of the story - and there are many to choose from - it would have to be the character of Mika'el, or Michael as he's called in the human world. Holy freaking crap, where did he come from?! He intrigued me in book two (Sins of the Son), but in this book, he completely stole the show - or at least he did for me. I love him. LOVE HIM.

To wrap this review up, no, the Grigory Legacy is not your typical urban fantasy series. It doesn't play it safe. You can try to predict and pin it down, but trust me, it's not going to work. And that, my friends, is the sign of a series well done. Linda Poitevin is a freaking genius, and if you don't have her books on your reading list, you are missing out on some truly brilliant writing.

Sins of the Lost destroyed me. It ripped my guts out, crushed my heart, and turned me into a weeping, wailing, teeth-gnashing monster. I have no idea what will happen next, but I do know this: I CAN'T WAIT TO FIND OUT.

5 Stars ★★★★★
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.