Arcana Rising

Things are going really crazy here! Evie is on her own. Jack seems to be dead, and she is swept away from Arik by a monster wave courtesy of Circe. I liked seeing her on her own a little. She was able to really explore her capabilities and test the limits of not just her power, but of what she was willing to do with it. In Day Zero, the novella sharing the beginnings of the Arcana, we meet the rest of the deck, and they begin to make their appearance here. They are a twisted lot, some more than others, and some just doing whatever it takes to stay alive. As Evie encounters each one, the decisions she's forced to make on her own have major consequences for everyone. There are new enemies, new friends, and some that I'm just not quite sure of yet. The love triangle style of romance really comes to a head here after Richter washes Jack away in a sea of lava. Evie no longer has to choose, but that doesn't seem right to her. She wants what she can't have, and she wants what's still around to have. She want's her past, and she wants her present. Another big decision Evie will have to make on her own. There's a lot of growth and development in the Arcana in this book. They are all forced to look at their lives and their plans for the future, adapting as things change faster than they can really keep up. I'm interested to see what the Fool has up his sleeve, and how it will change the game in the next book - which is supposed to be coming pretty soon!

Here's my only problem with this series: now I have to wait almost another year for the next book. I was just too greedy; I gulped down "Arcana Rising" too quickly. No self-discipline. Kresley Cole simply can't write quickly enough for me! So get crackin', Kresley - I got me an envie for the next installment!

I was SO excited for this installment but ended up disappointed. This entire book did nothing except set up the next one with very little development. Will I read the next one? Probably but I'll keep my expectations low. Very anticlimactic.

I love to read Kresley Cole and cannot remember being so giddy to read a book as Arcana Rising in a series. This is a tremendous book with great character development but slow movement of the plot line. If you despise cliffhangers, reading this series is bound to bring you nothing but agony. Cole knows how to hook a reader.