Heaven's Queen
Spoilers clearly marked.
I'm so sad about this one and I so looked forward to it. Why an author would take an unconventional, strong, ballsy, in-your-face heroine from a place of strength and rebellion to a place of constantly fussing and obsessing over some dude is beyond me. This series went from kick-ass, adventurous Sci-fi with a side of romance to Cheesy Generic Romance with a side of Sci-fi.
I read 30% of this and 26% of it was spent focused solely on relationship drama. I had hoped that the focus would shift to more pressing matters from then on, but from what I'm hearing around the way, it doesn't get much better. There's a very big focus on this very flat romance that overpowers all the other elements.
But there's more than that. There's also a random "love triangle" thrown in there. Although, I guess I shouldn't call it random, because it wasn't anyone new. I'm also loathe to call it an actual triangle, because Devi wanted nothing to do with the guy. She proved that by being a complete dick to him. So, I'll just call it a three-person sitamation.
When Devi was in a very desperate place in book one and she was in danger with no one to turn to, she called Anthony. It took a while, but now he shows up for her in a big way. He risked his life to come for her. She was involved with this man for years! Does Devi show a lick of gratitude? No. Not even a lick.
Fine, Devi. You don't love Anthony. Fine. But he loves you. He came for you when you called in desperation. He even stood up to Rupert, a symbiont. The very creature that Anthony fears. This guy has big balls and he's got heart. You repay him for his love and loyalty by treating him horribly and mocking him for having his ship confiscated by Rupert? You MOCK him? That wasn't just "petty," as you called it. That was FUCKED UP.
Fucking dick move, Devi. I honestly couldn't believe she behaved this way. I couldn't let it go. I haven't let it go. It's left such a bad taste in my mouth. That one incident managed to shit on everything good I felt about Devi throughout the series. I hate that it's happened this way, but I can't help it. There are things you should do and things you shouldn't do. That was fucked up.
Am I the only one who really liked the other dude? It's very telling that the other dude made a more lasting impression on me in a few pages than wet blanket Rupert does in 3 books. Not to mention that Rupert killed Devi in the last book. FFS.
And then. Lawd, and then, to add insult to injury, we get treated to never ending comparisons between the two dudes. Just ridiculous comparisons made only to try and endear the reader to Rupert who's not that fucking likable, dammit. You know how I know he's not that likable? Because so much frikkin time has to be spent trying to convince you that he's awesome so late in the series. It's the last book. Rather than go on and on in book 3 about how great he really is, why weren't we just shown throughout? Blergh.
Rupert is so romanticized, that he's reduced to this weak-ass, sniveling, crying fool that is the complete opposite of the supposed badass Rupert of the first two books.
I can't begin to tell you how incredibly disappointing all of this is. Specifically, because book #1 was so good. It was unique, interesting, fun, suspenseful and riveting. No exaggeration. It was a really good book. I was really excited to recommend it to everyone, but now, I'm not so sure. Not when disappointment is just over the horizon. =/
