Monday, November 19, 2012

Review: The Ripple Effect

THE RIPPLE EFFECT
Rhiannon's Law #3
J.A. Saare
Adult Urban Fantasy
240 pages
Mundania Press
Available Now
Received from author for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
There is always a price to pay…

Rhiannon Murphy visited the future, witnessed hell on earth and made choices to change things for the greater good. Unfortunately there are consequences for her actions, the penalties for her interference possibly more than she can bear. Determined to sever her debt with a fallen angel, she pushes everything aside, focusing on locating Marigold Vesta’s resting place.

Until death comes knocking at her door.

When Disco’s maker arrives in New York, he resents Rhiannon on a level she can’t begin to comprehend. Yet Marius isn’t her most dangerous adversary, not by a long shot. Marius’s sire -- a half-demon -- is determined to see the necromancer who stunned the vampire world on her knees. If she won’t bend, he’ll do everything in his power to make her break. No price is too high, meaning no one is safe -- including Disco and Paine.

Dealt a blow from which she can never recover, Rhiannon turns to the only person who can help her: the fallen angel who is relying on Rhiannon to save her soul. Bartering with a creature from Heaven is probably just as dangerous as starting a war with a demon from Hell, but with nothing to lose it’s no longer about life or death.

It’s about getting even.


MY THOUGHTS
The Ripple Effect is one of those stories that sends a shudder of unease through us from the opening chapter, a sense of foreboding entering through our fingertips where they touch the pages and traveling like liquid lightening through our bloodstream until our entire bodies feel a darkly anticipatory weight settle in. It's with nerves on edge that we continue Rhiannon's story, subtle and not-so subtle hints of bad things to come causing us to shift uncomfortably in our seats, waiting with breath held for the pain we know is waiting for us around a not-too distant bend. Rhiannon's world is brutal and unforgiving, and Ms. Saare never wastes an opportunity to detail just how cutthroat it can be, but we know that while she'll let us ride the razor's edge and bloody ourselves again and again, she'll never let us completely fall off, providing us the comfort of a helping hand just as we start to precariously teeter.

Rhiannon has always been a highlight of this series, her no-nonsense attitude and abundance of sarcasm combining with a violent past and innate vulnerability to give us a stunningly chaotic young woman with a jumble of traits and faults that add up to one exquisitely human whole. In this latest installment, Rhiannon's imperfections are thrust into the spotlight, a past history of looking out only for herself and being the sole bearer of the repercussions of her actions proving to have created in her a fatal flaw given her initiation into a large vampire family. For most of this story she's unable to fully grasp what having a family means, and she continues on her lonely road with eyes straight ahead as she has every day before, all the while failing to expand her line of sight to see how her footsteps affect those on the periphery.

By the time her tunnel vision clears, unstoppable events are set in motion, ones that painfully and heart-wrenchingly school Rhiannon in the ways of the vampire world. Each book in this series has Rhiannon learning a hard lesson in the hardest way possible, her soft spots not just poked, but punched again and again until she's battered and bloody, though never beaten. One of the things we can't help but love most about Rhiannon is her ability to own her mistakes and take the fallback unflinchingly, recognizing the decisions that led her to her current predicament and stepping up to receive the blow physically, emotionally, or in the case of this third installment, both.

Overall, The Ripple Effect is a challenging read in that it tests our boundaries as readers, forcing us to evaluate whether we're strong enough to traverse this world with Rhiannon or if it's simply more than we can bear. The first half suggests the latter, the darkness looming on the horizon like a poisonous snake coiling in our guts ready to strike at any moment, but the second half, after a red haze of pain clears, gives us strength in the form of a Rhiannon with renewed purpose. Her determination to see her mistakes remedied and her debts paid in full fills us with hope that the end of her journey, whenever that may be, will see her with wounds healed and happiness etched in every one of her features.

Rating: 4.5/5

47 comments:

  1. I so want to try a book by her! This series or that other series. I really must one day

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    1. I hope you do, I highly recommend this series!

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  2. I didn't think and ADULT Urban Fantasy book could interest me, but this series surprisingly does! Thanks, Jenny :) PS. I don't know about the name Rhiannon though.. Something about it bothers me -.- But I think it's a really minor thing about a book if the story is great. Glad you enjoyed it :)

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    1. I have to read adult books in between all the YA. I adore YA books, but sometimes all the angst can just get to me and I need to read something with older characters:) This series is dark and I'm always drawn to dark stories!

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  3. Ooh, a 4.5?!? You so rarely give those! I...I don't know if I'm strong enough to travel Rhiannon's path but you can bet I'm gonna try it. She sounds like an amazing character in a super-dark world.

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    1. I know, almost 90% of my reviews fall in between a rating of 3 and 4, I so rarely find something that blows me away, but I'm madly in love with Rhiannon. Her story is hard to read sometimes, but it's because I'm so emotionally attached to the characters that when bad things happen, I can hardly deal with it.

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  4. I've NEVER heard of this series! Will definitely check it out now . I mean you gave it a 4.5!

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    1. YAY! Book one is Dead, Undead or Somewhere in Between. Highly recommend:)

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  5. This book knocked my socks off! INTENSE is the word I would use to describe it. I have a pretty strong stomach and there were some scenes that made me feel a little ill.

    Rhiannon is a rockstar heroine. I love how compassionate she is and how fierce she loves.

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    1. YES! Intense is the perfect word. I was an emotional mess the entire way through. I need book 4 immediately.

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  6. Wow such a high rating from you hon??? I haven't read any of these books but maybe I should!!!!! Btw, we need to chat I have some book recommendations for you!! Woot!!!

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    1. I know. I don't give a rating that high often. I just love how well developed these characters are, I was in love with them early on in book one, and they get deeper and deeper under my skin with each book. So good!

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  7. Wow, this sounds incredible. A challenging read is very intriguing. I'll have to look up the first books in this series.

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    1. First book is Dead, Undead or Somehwere in Between if you're interested:):)

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  8. Crap. Jenny, I have a confession to make. I still have book 2 of this series on my Kindle, unread. I should, um, get to that. Especially if the third book is good, too. *scampers off*

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    1. Dude. What are you waiting for?! Book 2 was hard for me to read as well - J.A. knows just how to rip out my heart and trample all over it before putting it back in my chest. It's kind of sick that I love her for it though:)

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  9. Well hello new series and kick-ass protagonist that I must read ..eep! I am off to see if I can get book one on my nook.. fantastic review Jen I loved how you described your feelings while reading this:)

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    1. YES!!!! Beware book 1 does have an EPIC cliffhanger though, so you'll likely want to have book 2 on hand. Rhiannon is just such a brilliant character I think. She's so strong and vulnerable at the same time. Love her.

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  10. I'd never heard of this series before but from your review it seems like a really good one. The main character sounds like a very strong and impressive character. I admire characters that recognize and admit their faults and knows how to face them. It's very rare to meet them so I'm glad that this one has that kind of MC that made this book better. Beautiful review, Jenny! :)

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    1. That's my favorite thing about Rhiannon - the fact that she doesn't stick her head in the sand and pretend not to notice all the mistakes she makes. She owns up to every single one and works her butt off trying to fix it while also making note of it so she doesn't make the same mistake again.

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  11. DUDE! I need to read these! I swear I have the first one but haven't read it yet. I totally fail!

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    1. You do. You shouldn't be allowed to blog anymore ;-) I hope you give book 1 a try, but like I told Kim, the ending is rough. You'll want to have book 2 at the ready.

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  12. I keep seeing this series around but I'm not sure I' brave enough to go along this dark journey. The characters sound fantastic though. It definitely in my maybe tbr pile.

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    1. I wasn't sure I was going to make it through this one, but it was mostly because I knew what happened going in and I totally psyched myself out. Once I got in there, I was able to deal much better:)

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  13. I love how you managed to explain this book without including a single hint. I know everything I need to know and there's not a single spoiler in sight. That's experience, hah.
    I read the first book and was unhappy with some sloppy writing and editing, so I gave up on the series, but maybe I should reconsider.
    Fantastic review!

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    1. Thank you! I try really hard to not give anything away, especially with books that are mid-series. I'm not the type that minds spoilers, but I don't like to ruin anything for anyone else who might want to start at the beginning!

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  14. Wow...that review was completely confusing and completely intriguing all at once. Thanks for bringing this series to my attention!

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    1. Hahaha sorry. I was trying to be vague because big things happen in this book and I didn't want to spoil:)

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  15. Oh wow Jenny seriously this review is simply amazing! I love how you take a book I've never heard of before and make me want to pick it up straight away! I think a shelf called Jenny on my goodreads is definitely necessary now! :)

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    1. Thanks Jasprit! I really enjoy this series. I always have to take deep breaths before picking a Rhiannon book up though because I know she's going to go through hell, but I can't not read them. I have to know what happens to her:)

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  16. I have the first one and I know I so need to get the other 2 and just read them all at once. It sounds so amazing and I already love this author. I love the way you describe the tension. Oh I am so going to do this one soon!!

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    1. Reading all at once is good, she definitely leaves you hanging at the end of book one. Kind of a jaw dropper:)

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  17. I have heard such great things about this series and I like that it has a heavy dark foreboding atmosphere and that you are on edge throughout the read. I can't believe the third book is already out. I hate that this books are getting so far ahead of me!

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    1. Oh man Heidi. There were so many times where I was like "should I just stop reading now? I don't know if I can deal with what's coming." But then things happened and they were awful but I made it through and now I can't wait to see where things go from the end of this one:)

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  18. No-nonsense attitude and an abundance of sarcasm?! Rhinannon sounds like my sort of character! I am clearly missing out by not picking this series up. Lovely review, Jenny!

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    1. Oh yes. Rhiannon is my kind of heroine. I adore her:)

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  19. It's always a huge plus point when you can rate a book in the middle of a series so highly, so it seems that this is one I just HAVE to check out. Plus, Rhinannon sounds like such a kick-ass heroine, so thanks for introducing this one to me, Jenny! Amazing review, hun! :)

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    1. She's an utter badass, I love it. But J.A. does such a brilliant job of making her hard and soft - she can take care of herself but at the same time she makes you want to take care of her. She's such a beautifully balanced character.

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  20. Ooh, forbidding! I honestly can't recall ever hearing of this series before, but I think it's impressive that the author was able to create such an atmosphere of bad things to come right away. I should add the first book to my tbr if you think so highly of the series!

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    1. This was a hard read for me. You can just feel something bad coming from the very first chapter, and it's painful knowing there's nothing you can do to stop it. I considered just not reading in the delusional hope that then those events just wouldn't happen:)

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  21. I didn't catch that this was the 3rd in the series so while I was reading the synopsis I was really confused. This sounds like a very painful book to read. Sounds like she loses someone that cannot be replaced. That's a tough kind of book to read. I haven't heard of this series. But as always, you give me a lot to think about in your review.

    Heather

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    1. Haha yes, definitely not a series you can read out of order and have a clue as to what's going on. It was an extraordinarily painful read, but I was left feeling hopeful for the future, and that made everything easier to swallow:)

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  22. WOW, what an opening paragraph! I love books that challenge and bring me to the dark recesses of my mind. I'm not at all familiar with this author and series, but you've definitely, definitely convinced me to give her works a shot! Splendid review, love. :)

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    1. YAY! I hope people give this series a try, I obviously am a huge fan:)

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  23. I don't think I have heard much about this series but it sounds intense! I'm going to go look up the first book. Who knows, I might already have it!

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  24. I wanna test my boundaries with this book as well!! Rhiannon sounds like a VERY interesting character! Def would want to read about her! Lovely review dear!
    - Farah @ MajiBookshelf

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  25. WOW! Never heard of this book but I like the way you make it sounds. It sounds adventerous and fun to read. Thanks for sharing :)

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