#BookReview – “Evernight” by Kristen Callihan

Blurb

Once the night comes . . .

Will Thorne is living a nightmare, his sanity slowly being drained away by a force he can't control. His talents have made him the perfect assassin for hire. But as he loses his grip on reality, there is no calming him—until he finds his next target: the mysterious Holly Evernight.

Love must cast aside the shadows . . .

Holly cannot fathom who would put a contract on her life, yet the moment she touches Will, the connection between them is elemental, undeniable—and she's the only one who can tame his bouts of madness. But other assassins are coming for Holly. Will must transform from killer to protector and find the man who wants Holly dead . . . or his only chance for redemption will be lost. 

Review

In book five in the Darkest London series, Holly Evernight is too afraid to leave the safety of her London home, Evernight House, and passes the time by creating technical wonders. A year earlier, a cruel fallen angel had kidnapped her and forced her to build a mechanical clockwork heart, which he then brutally installed in an unwilling demon. Even though she’s human, she’s descended from the Fae and can control all types of metal. Her life is now in danger again, and the only man to help her is the one she’s been struggling to forget.

Sanguis demon William Thorne has lived in terrible pain for a year. His platinum clockwork heart keeps him alive, but the metal has taken over his body, turning him into a mindless fiend. He wants nothing more than to kill the woman responsible for building the heart, but when he finds her, he realizes she’s his only hope for a cure. With one touch, Holly draws the pain away and controls the metal. In exchange for her help, he promises to find the assassins out to kill her.

Holly was very cold, logical, and closed-off to her emotions while Will embraced his emotions and always sought out joy and amusement. Even though they initially disliked and mistrusted one another, they quickly found common ground through sexual attraction and a mutual need to belong to someone. They were complete opposites, but fit perfectly together. He loosened her up, and she gave him order.

Though I liked Will and Holly a lot (they’re one of my favorite couples in the series), I don’t understand why neither of them showed remorse for the people they had killed. (Holly killed a female demon in self-defense, and Will killed a human blood donor while in a mindless rage.) Their lack of emotion in those two instances didn’t seem right.

Holly’s cousin, Sin Evernight, has been talked about for a few books now, and I’m so happy he’s finally been introduced on page!

I loved all the scenes with Adam and Eliza May, but I didn’t like him very much.

It was great to see Mary and Jack again, but I wish the questions I had from their book would’ve been answered in this one.

It’s always interesting to see Poppy Lane, the heroine from book three, in her role as Mother, the leader of the SOS, the society that protects the secret of the existence of supernatural creatures. As Mother, she’s cold and a little cruel, but that’s just a front for the kind woman beneath the surface.

As with the previous book, there are some unanswered questions. Will Holly lose her prestigious job with SOS, as Poppy threatened, since she’s refusing to give up Will? The secret group of assassins, the Amulet, was very interesting, but how did Will join up with them? After Will and Holly tricked Mab, will life go back to normal for Will’s human family?

I like Ms. Callihan’s writing style, despite the occasional use of passive voice. It’s flowery and flows well with unique descriptions, metaphors, and adjectives. Behind Winterblaze, this is my favorite book in the series.

4.5 Stars