2 out of 5 stars
I obtained a copy of this book via Kindle Unlimited so only have myself to thank. 😉
Okay… there is going to be some constructive criticism within my review so please brace for it. It is not meant as a verbal attack, to be mean or to try and make the author look bad. It is simply an explanation as to why I rated ‘Escaping from the Abyss’ so low.
As we know the “bad stuff” is coming, let’s get some positives in there first. Well… it ended ‘The Crossings Trilogy’ to some extent. It did still include ghosts and was partially about the supernatural still. And… well, I read it to the end within about three days so it wasn’t a completely terrible tale. 😉
Basically, the constructive criticism is this – I really felt the author lost her way with this series. It started out as a promising tale of the supernatural that dealt with past and recent deaths and some growth allowing the protagonist to move on… and it ended as just a chick lit coming of age tale, with an unnecessary love triangle – or was that square? – that then tried to mash some supernatural like things into it to connect it to the original idea.
Sorry to sound so harsh, but that is really what it came across as. The first half of the book seemed to be more about the protagonist, her inner turmoil, her coming of age and her love life… and then, oops, this was meant to be about laying ghosts and demons to rest so we better try and do something that includes that.
What is worse is the continuity issues. In the first two books it was said that Clay had lost his leg… yet in the third book it had grown back and was merely injured? Another continuity issue was who was ‘Old Man Mint’ and why was his death on the same night as Mason and Clyde never explained? Was it just forgotten? Hmmmm, maybe I am being too nit-picky? I mean I am perfectly imperfect and so should let other people be that way too. I guess I got so annoyed by these and other flaws – that I won’t mention as they are spoilers – is because they seem to add to the feeling this book was hastily written by someone who was no longer really focussed on the original idea and, as it was a trilogy, thought it best to ensure there was indeed a third book.
I don’t know. Call me super critical… but it was just such a let down to what started off to be a promising and interesting YA supernatural mystery series.
And before everyone starts spamming me with unlikes just remember this is merely one opinion and to remember that magic mantra: “Pfffft, what would SHE know?!” It works wonders on those who leave reviews I don’t agree with. 😉
Would I recommend this book to others?
This is a really tough call simply because it is the third and final book in a trilogy. And so if I recommend the first book… I would then have to warn the reader that I felt the series went downhill from there. And I hate doing that as it can create a biased opinion of a series before it’s even started. So… after reading ‘Escaping from the Abyss’ I would have to say I would have to retract my previous statements about recommending any of ‘The Crossings Trilogy’ as I don’t want to be blamed for recommending a series that ended so weakly and so different from ow it started. Sorry. 😦
Would I buy this book for myself?
No I wouldn’t. In fact, I only joined Kindle Unlimited to read ‘Escaping from the Abyss’ and the previous book in the series ‘Edging through the Darkness’. I can’t find a heck of a lot of other books ON Kindle Unlimited that I would want to read and so I will be unsubscribing. Which will mean I lose these two books… not something that I will be that upset over.
In summary: A weak ending to a trilogy that started so well.
Until next time,
Janis.
Janis's Journal 