When Ethan is called home by his father to watch over his old kingdom in his parent’s absence, he is almost relieved to be leaving. The men try to work out a long distance relationship but the strain is just as hard on them as it had been before.
Meanwhile Jamie is fighting to assert his power over a group of vampires who remain loyal only to the former monarchy. He believes that his advisors are plotting behind his back and worries that he isn’t strong enough to hold things together on his own.
The men need each other more than ever, but without the bond that originally brought them together, their stubbornness and aggression feels too strong to overcome again. Both are left to wonder if they are ever going to make things work or if they have been fighting a losing battle from the very beginning.
Comment: This book by Dakota Rebel is the sequel to To Hate and to Hold, a book that is one of my favorites when it comes to vampire stories. I know this story has been released for two years but only recently I could finally get my hands on it. I was hopeful it would be good like its predecessor.
In tis sequel, the couple Ethan and Jamie, who got together because of a spell gone wrong, are finally living together and Jamie has won the right to be King of Chicago. But the job is taking a toll on their relationship because Jamie can't be with Ethan as much as he'd like.
Ethan feels the pressure of living so far from home and being second place in Jamie's life. It's hard to understand how long Jamie is away from him, even in the times they could be alone.
Is their love not enough, was it a mistake to be in love and try at being in a committed relationship?
The moment a reader chooses to read a book can influence the final opinion, I think. I'm certain that, had I read this soon after the first it might feel better, but right now it only looked average and not amazing at all.
I actually feel disappointed because despite not remembering many details about the first book, I know I liked it a lot and I recall all the good feelings I had by having read a story where the couple didn't like each other much but fell in love. I can't say I felt the same with this one. In fact, this story was boring, unappealing and easily forgettable to me.
I couldn't find much interest in the plot. Jamie is King of Chicago, he has a lot to deal with etc, but I was never compelled to care about his troubles.
Ethan feels like a stay-at-home mate and wants to have a different life. Sincerely he seemed whiny and of everything he could do, he focused on the not doing thing.
Their lives apart from the bond/relationship interested me close to nothing, to be honest.
The relationship, which I loved so much, feels stagnate and unimportant. Why do they bother? It seemed that everything they went through was easily put aside and despite me understanding this is supposed to be the challenge of dealing with things after a hot start, I still felt bored by how everything seems flat and just a means to present a story that was perfect but sequel needs ruined it.
I also know each reader has an opinion, but for me nothing really made me feel happy or eager to keep reading.
The characters themselves were surprised at how others seemed different, so why wouldn't I?
After so much time it was hard to feel a connection to others than the main couple. Simply said, I wasn't invested in any other character in this story anymore. All the secondary characters felt like strangers and nothing in the way the author wrote made me feel like seeing people I once liked.
Finally, the sex scenes. Sure they have few times to show the other how much in love they are. But the sex was too much, too repetitive and without any meaning. They fought, they weren't in a balanced or settled relationship and sex was the escape of all the pressure, a means to reassure them of their bond. I just think this didn't have any importance and I skipped it all.
So, after all the plot and character's details processed, I have to say I was sorry this has taken this course.
It feels like the author had to write something, because she wanted or maybe by reader/publisher nudges, I don't know, but honestly I feel like the story I cherish was ruined by a sequel that doesn't have any real plot at all, that's forgettable and uninteresting and exists only to justify a need that good stories nowadays have, that need to live on. But in my humble opinion, the original rocks and should be enjoyed by what it is without this sequel to change its perfection.
Grade: 4/10
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