Her bootlegger lover Jake Larkin may want her to pack her bags and just leave, but Charlotte Delacorte knows that if she truly wants her freedom, she needs to make sure William pays the ultimate price for his secret life. With the help of her sister-in-law Mae, Charlotte figures the way to rope in William is to use his foolish pride and obsessive-compulsive need for total control against him. And it's not a half bad plan, except that Jake may inadvertently muck it all up.
I have really, really enjoyed this serial novel. I have loved the soapy goodness. I have loved all of the characters and their various naughty shenanigans. The problem though is that a serialization is only as good as the final installment and this one has major problems. Namely, it doesn't so much end as it does stop.
Look, I get it. This is not a romance novel. I can't expect everything to be all neat and tidy at the end. But I am the sort of reader who tends to get annoyed when all my questions aren't answered. When characters that I have followed, and grown to care about (even if it is in a warped and slightly cracked way) are left twisting in the breeze. Oh sure, the villain is dealt with. And even to a certain extent Mae rides off into the sunset. But Jake, Charlotte, and Rafferty? Hell, even Charlotte's parents?
OH MY LORD WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO THEM?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
It just STOPS!
Excuse me a moment.....
ARRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
I need something. Another installment. An epilogue. Something! Anything!
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?
Sigh.
So where does this leave us? Well, it leaves me torn. As much as I was hooked on the first five installments, this final one really left me disappointed. I mean, it ends in such a way that I feel like the author isn't done yet. The story does not feel remotely finished. And yet?
THIS IS THE FINAL INSTALLMENT!
Excuse me a moment.....
ARRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
I just.....
I need time.
Final Grade = D
6 comments:
Ohhhh, that is the most frustrating, Wendy!! That it just stops! I always say I don't need my romances being tied in nice bows or with an epilogues... but I like them better when they are!
Just too bad that it kind of ruined the whole thing for you :(
Nath: I am STILL wrapping my head around the whole reading experience. I loved this series. I positively devoured all of the installments. And while the author does wrap up her William's Secret Life plot - it was the fact that some of my favorite characters were left hanging that got to me. I wanted everything all tidy for everybody at the end and......
That didn't happen.
It's hard to throw the baby out with the bath water though. I mean, I LOVED reading this series. It's just in the end, I wanted MORE of it.
Do you think there's a chance the author will provide more? I really hope so for you!
Nath: I don't know - but I sure hope so! I would love to read more stories about these characters!
A D?! For the last episode? I didn't read the review, just saw all the capital letters all over the place. Okay... I think I know why you might have had a problem, but a D?! Wendy! LOL!
I enjoyed this all the way through -- although I was surprised by the ending. I have to finish posting my reviews. I'm so behind. :(
Hils: The D grade was my knee-jerk reaction :) I was like, but...but...but....THAT CAN'T BE THE END?!?!?! I had to decompress, wander around the Bat Cave before I could write the review and I still ended up with a bunch of capital letters.
And you have a good excuse for being behind!
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