Strange and Ever After (Something Strange and Deadly #3)

 Synopsis

After all she's experienced in Philadelphia and Paris, now Marcus has taken Jie. And Eleanor is determined to get her back. Todo so, she must navigate the hot desert streets of nineteenth-century Egypt amid the rising Dead, her unresolved feelings for Daniel, and her volatile relationships with Oliver and Joseph. To add to Eleanor's strife, her old friend Allison is tagging along, strangely entangled in the mission. It will take all of Eleanor's powers to succeed. And only when it is over will Eleanor be able to live a strange and ever after life.

Loved

• The character development. In this third book we FINALLY see some maturity from Eleanor and some understanding among the characters. In the second book I was pulling my hair out at frustration with every single character, but this book was so much better in that regard. While I still don't particularly love Eleanor, she develops very nicely in this book- overcoming her lust for blood and power, understanding how her power affects others, and being willing to sacrifice for those she loves. She also learns to communicate a little- praise be! While my relationship with Eleanor has been rocky, I started out really liking her and then seriously hating her, by the end of this book I was back to liking her for her pragmatic sarcasm, relentless bravery, and her strength in dealing with so many awful circumstances. 

• The Egyptian mythology. I've always been a sucker for Egyptian mythology cause hello? Mummies and ancient gods? Yes please. We get to interact with Anubis, Thoth, and even some ancient pharaohs in this story, which was very fun and scratched my constant itch for more ancient Egyptian history.

• Daniel. I wanted to love Daniel throughout the series, but his temper bothered me so much that I had a hard time falling for him. However, in this story he also develops and learns to control his temper (mostly :). I did fall for him in this third book and I enjoyed his relationship with Eleanor so much more because they actually spent time together without fighting (a miracle!). Their relationship is deeper and more mature in this book, which I really appreciated.

• Oliver. I've always loved Oliver- well, mostly. He had a few moments in the second book, but mostly I just love this morally gray demon. In this story his character develops well as he learns more about love, sacrifice, and selflessness. He is definitely my favorite character in the whole series and he doesn't disappoint in this finale!

Didn't Love

• I still was bothered by Eleanor's brashness at times, and mostly by her STILL keeping secrets even after all the drama and heartache she caused by keeping secrets in the second book. But overall her character developed so much in this book and I really liked her by the end.
•  THE END!! I won't spoil, but ah, the ending just killed me. Still recovering. DM me if you want to vent about it ;)

Content

• Language: 
• Fairly frequent uses of "bastard," "damn," "shi*", "hell," and as*."

• Sexual content: 
• A few kisses between the two main characters.
• One romp in some wheat fields that involves touching a lot of skin, entangling skirts, and passionate kisses. Not much described, unclear if anything sexual happened.

• Violence:
• Like the other books, we've got LOTS of zombie gore.
• Many mentions of zombies and their rotting flesh, chattering teeth, etc. They get killed in many different ways throughout the book.
• Mentions of stabbings with spears, getting shot with pistols and pulse-pistols, and cutting with knives.
• Mentions of rotted bodies of mummies and recently-killed characters.
• One female character is put under a spell and a male character dressed her while in this spell, which causes some emotional trauma.
• One disturbing scene where a character is killed with spiritual energy- talks about his body disintegrating little by little. Graphic descriptions of flesh burning, eyes burning, and each organ exploding.


• Other themes:
• There is a lot of talk about demons, the afterlife, the spirit realm and black magic. One of the main characters is a demon and he is not evil. There is much talk of the spirit realm, "hell hounds" that guard this realm, and trying to talk to the spirits of loved ones who have died.
• Lots of talk of necromancy and speculation about whether it is always evil despite its being black magic. Also mentions of voodoo, seances, and shamanism.

Overall Thoughts

I am so glad I stuck with this series and finished it. After the second book I was tempted to give it up because I was SO annoyed with the characters, but I'm so glad I gave the third book a chance. The characters all matured, learned to communicate better, and understood sacrifice and selflessness so much more in this book. I loved the Egyptian mythology tied in with the mummies rising from the dead, Egyptian gods, and mysteries in the pyramids. I found myself rooting for each member of the gang by the end and I realized I had come to love each of them throughout the series, even through their unflattering moments. The ending of this story about killed me and I wish it ended up differently, but it was definitely a finale worth waiting for and I'm happy I stuck through the series!