As this is a Dark-Hunter novel and titled Stygian (which, by the way, is quite possibly the most badass book name I’ve ever encountered and according to the dictionary, Stygian relates to the Styx River or refers to something very dark – again badass), one would surely expect (as I did) nonstop darkness and a continuous reigning fire of destruction – basically a book brimming with evil inkblots saturating its’ every page… To be fair, you do get those things (let’s call it a murky backdrop of death), of course there is landscaping of treachery, cruelty, and war – but before beginning this 29th book in the series you should know that Kenyon has lasered her focus on the manly MC’s emotions, what drives them, who they love and who they’ve lost, and finally what endured pain mercilessly cast their newest evolutions.
I dislike writing anything even remotely resembling dissatisfaction – I mean, it’s Sherrilyn Kenyon FTLOG, and I will forever be a fan. That being said, Stygian didn’t hit all my buttons. I’ll rip the band-aid off – I wish there had been a lot less regurgitation from previous novels as well as repeating (almost verbatim) what was written at the beginning of the book and placed again near the end. I was thrown off by the redundancy. There are times when you think, geez, have I already read this? It was at this point, when I had almost finished the book, that I remembered something important… The Dark-Hunter novels are part of the whole Dark World – this author is somehow (I believe she is part Fae) intertwining series – a whole magical, character whack-a-mole extravaganza! Which means this – Kenyon may have written Stygian this way, for some reason as yet unknown to the world, and maybe I should stop being a whiner about the parts I don’t care for and focus on the fact that without this author’s epically epic darkness, my world would be way too light…
You will love watching Urian grow up, seeing his trials (and there are many – you’ll sniffle over a few), his first love (definitely didn’t see that twist), and especially the deadly, roller-coaster, family ride he can’t seem to disembark… I’m going to throw this out there for no particular reason other than the fact that I may choke if I don’t…I. Can. Not. Stand. Phoebe. How Uri ever mourned that whiny B (b stands for butterfly…maybe) for so many years is anyone’s guess. Surely I’m not the only reader to wish a Daimon found her alone…
Thank you for taking the time to read my review! I hoped you enjoy it. If you have yet to order your copy of Stygian, please help support my site and use the link below.