Gallows and Ghouls

I had such high hopes for this series, but erg. The romance was way to easy and weird at the same time. How in book 3 are you thinking it strange they are throwing around the term girlfriend-- didn't we go over this in book 2?? Also LOVE?? I'm not exactly sure how... <br /><br />No character development. Every time it felt like she'd change, grow up... she wouldn't. Every time she said she wouldn't run away or wouldn't leave people behind... I just got so frustrated. There are only so many times you can apologize about something when you know you're just gonna do it again. <br /><br />I thought the conclusion was rather meh and feels like a set up for another series -_-" <br />Not for me.

I literally devoured these three books in less than 24 hours. So good! What I was really glad to hear was at the end when the author, Katie May, said there would be more from these characters in a NA series. I cannot wait for that! <br /><br />

On the one hand I’m so happy with the way this book handled the Shadowman and wrapped up the storyline, even if it was a smidge too easy. But on another I knew trudging along the relationship aspect of the book either would be left open or incomplete because while there was some progression it was like walking in the desert sans water. Throughout the series the author warns the books end on a cliffy and while one could argue this isn’t necessarily a cliffy I don’t agree. Apparently there’s a NA series that will continue on Cami’s story with the guys. Ughhhghg but why?!?! <input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="4f32fad0-b7a7-4666-b1af-949bbd430a94" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="4f32fad0-b7a7-4666-b1af-949bbd430a94">Like I said I’m glad the Shadowman story worked out. He ended up being her father and she had to literally shred the tether of his soul from her own. But then so much crazy happened like with her little sister confessing to the murders and being locked up. Wtf?!?! Another why I have to question. It really makes no sense that even Cami thinks she’s where she needs to be, when cami herself has an evil side, that maybe hasn’t killed but doesn’t mind maiming people. How is she not holding herself to the same standard, she has the evil in her yet Karissa was manipulated and coerced by the Shadowman ? I just can’t wrap my head around how quickly it all wrapped up and even her dads just accepted the ways things went. And do her dads not see or recognize the same issues in Karissas life that were in camis when she was young. Did everyone lose their minds?!? Then there’s the part about Ty dying, literally WTF?!?!?! I was so thrown off guard by this and honestly I hate it and think it was unnecessary. Now he can’t even have a relationship with his family-unless of course he let’s them know, “hey it’s me Ty, yeah I totally died but my cool badass girlfriend made me this new body and put my soul in it, so here I am.” I also still don’t understand anything about their “gang.” In the first book it was made into such a huge deal I just don’t get how it was such a sidelined nonexistent part of the story, only popping up when needed. As for the relationship-everything about it after the three books still feels super underdeveloped. I finally started to grasp all the guys and while a few like Kieran and Luke still feel distant and outcasted I’m so disappointed with how it’s all left hanging so open. I think she makes it to like second base with a few of them but that’s it and I get that there’s going to be more books Im Just upset that not only did I not know that going in, now I have to wait and I hate waiting. Another odd thing that I just remembered was how random it was having her ex bestie and ex boyfriend just hanging around at her house. Like ummm why did they not go home? It was so random they stayed with her for x amount of time yet only even saw Cami (the one they were supposed to be visiting) a handful of times. Another part of the storyline that felt so detached yet brought up as needed. </label> I really did enjoy the series overall I’m just supremely disappointed that so much was left open and underdeveloped particularly the relationship side of the story.

I remember that the first book in this series was one of the first reverse harem books I won in a giveaway. However, I then discovered that it was horror and I'm easily spooked and scared so I stayed away from it. I'm doing better and better though, especially when the books are supernatural. And I'm so glad I finally gave this series a chance. It's addictive, emotional and action packed. I was therefore quite curious to read how the story would end.<br /><br />I have to admit that at times the book felt a little chaotic and all over the place. Don't get me wrong, I still really enjoyed reading it, but for some reason it sometimes felt as if May was trying a little too hard to make sure that everyone and everything got enough attention in this book. It therefore sometimes felt as if the characters were distracted, hesitating or just hiding from their issues instead of having a goal in mind and going for it.<br /><br />And although all the pieces of the puzzle clicked nicely and every loose end was tied perfectly, I think there were a little too many loose ends that still needed to be tied after taking care of the enemy. Therefore the big moment of the book, what felt like the finale, was followed by what felt like a really long epilogue attempting to wrapping up everything that was forgotten and the mess those people had gotten themselves in.<br /><br />I do hope though that the author will continue with this series and will write that new trilogy she promises us in the afterword. I know that this was one of her first (maybe even the first) series ever and I've read a lot of her other books and know how much she has grown as an author. I'd be very curious to see what will happen if she returns to these characters now and gives them a new story and new plot. I'm sure it will be amazing!

Am I the only person who is annoyed by inconsistencies in these books? Because as much as I liked the series, I got mad every single time I came across factually inconsistencies, and there were a lot. <br />e.g.<br /><i>"I cursed myself for not getting my license sooner"</i> And then all of a sudden she is driving all over the show.<br /><i>“Well what did you expect? Between football after school, student senate, and my gaming group, I don’t have a lot of time.”</i> This was the vilified ex boyfriend, Jaron, which also irritated me because I felt it was unfounded. But they (Jaron and Fiona) are able to fly to whereever Cami is and stay over for however long while Cami and others are still going to school and no explanation is given about why or how.<br />ETC.<br /><br />And these inconistencies were throughout the three books and not only from different books but in same book. One of my problem with reading a series back to back, is that sometimes I come across plot or story inconsistency from one book to the next, that I make an excuse for the author. This irritates me but I am a little lenient with. Same book inconsistencies drive me crazy. <br /><br />So as much as I loved the storyline and the characters, I feel the contradictions and inconsistencies are careless mistakes that should have been picked up by someone before the books were published.<br />

Who knew that defeating the Shadow Man would be easier than asking for help? <br /><br />Yeah, I kind of feel like I've wasted my time on this series.<br />This series is like taken out of a season of Supernatural, but much worse executed. And without the added benefit of Jensen but instead with lame humour, word vomit and annoying AF pet names.<br /><br />The FMC have no real grow whatsoever. She still only focuses on herself and what suits her. <br />The relationships are beyond a joke and it's shown early on, that they're definitely not her partners or equals. But merely her harem.

Well this was better then the last book. I liked how the story went and how her own story got wrapped up. I didn't like the romance. they just never seem to connect and were just all together. I liked the angst but I felt like the creep factor was only really there in the first book. This started off so well then just fizzled really.

<strong>Great season finale </strong><br /><br />I call it a season finale because though it's the end of this series, Cami and the guys are coming back. I was delighted with the ending but I am thrilled to learn this isn't the end.

Another step down in quality. The book meandered even more than the others, and the romance was even more all-consuming. I'm all for polyandry, but 7 is too many characters to deal with satisfyingly.<br /><br />The Shadow Man has gone from a single father raising his daughter in a run-down shack in the woods to the owner of a luxurious gothic mansion. I didn't realize Satan's taste in interior decor would be so charmingly tacky.<br /><br />Cami's reluctance to kill the Shadow Man got pretty old pretty quickly. He killed two of her boyfriends and was planning to kill the rest. He's not exactly winning any father of the year awards. The man is the literal Devil, there's no need to defend killing him. <br /><br />The situation with Colt's hand was odd. It wasn't explained how it went from having been reattached to being completely gone. <br /><br />I have something of an issue with the "How could a mother do that to her child?" bit. Seems like the author forgot that both of Dorian's parents murdered him, his mother was not solely responsible, his father was involved to. Yet it's presented as if it was just his mother, which feeds into the different ways that murderous fathers and mothers are portrayed in the media (when mothers murder their children, people call them monsters, when fathers murder their children, people call the mother a monster for failing to protect the kids). Murderous fathers IRL are barely blamed, we don't need books reinforcing this.<br /><br />There was also this weird line: "The varying colors somehow demoted the room from masculine to soft and almost feminine." I don't know what the author was thinking. It's just so bizarre.

<strong>Gallows and Ghouls</strong><br /><br />Overall I did enjoy reading this finale. It gave me the ending I wanted and I kinda want to continue reading the next NA spin-off of these characters. <br />However, while I did like the general idea of this book, the execution fell flat for me. I didn't like Cami as much as I did in the previous books and I missed character and relationship development in this book. There were jumps in this plot that made me feel like I missed reading something and other parts felt rushed. At one point I even wanted to stop reading, but I pushed through and in the end I can say this book was okay. There was a lot of potential and I love the characters enough to be curious to what they might face in the future, but I do hope to see more development than we did in this book.