ARC Review--The Eternity Key by Bree Despain

After escaping the Skylords, Haden, Daphne, and their friends decide to try to find the Key of Hades on their own before Persephone's Gate opens again on the spring equinox. They think they can use the Key as leverage to stop the Court from coming after Daphne, and stop them from releasing the Keres on the mortal world. Once in Olympus Hills, Haden and Daphne find themselves with some hiccups in their plan. Haden's twin brother, Rowan, reveals himself to have been following Haden's entire mission, and the Skylords have sent a group of their own to enroll at Olympus Hills High to spy on Haden and Daphne.

As the spring equinox looms, the gang finds an unlikely ally in one of the Skylords who helps them devise a plan for getting the Key and using it to destroy the Keres before they can break free from the Pit and devour the world. In order to fulfill the plan, Daphne must enter the Underrealm with the Key. Unfortunately, because of the oath Haden made to never bring Daphne back there, he is unable to accompany Daphne. Reluctantly, he agrees to let Garrick and Tobin take her through Persephone's Gate, while he and the Skylord wait for them on the other side.

Separated in two different worlds, but still linked by destiny, Haden and Daphne must race against time to keep the Keres from revolting and keep themselves-and their love-alive.

I received this ARC from the publishers via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, I was in no way compensated for this review.


I read Bree Despain's The Eternity Key in about a day and it was freaking awesome! I read 1 chapter one day and then the rest the day after and just wow! WOW! And now I must say, I NEED book 3 SEVERAL MONTHS AGO!!!

Now that I got that out of the way, let's move on! We pick up mere weeks where we left off and based on when I read the ARC of the first book last time, it's probably been a year since I read that one too! So my memory was basically null and void on everything! There have just been too many reads and other life events that got in the way and I couldn't remember much of anything, but as I read, gradually some of the details came back to me. Generally, when I can't remember what happened in the previous book, I just try to roll with it. Forcing memories to appear is more painful than you would think, but I am glad that I did it this way because I truly enjoyed The Eternity Key and am all keyed up for the next one (no pun intended) (mostly).

Daphne, Haden, and Tobin are our narrators this time around--yup, three of them!--and they along with their friends are determined to find the Key that will open the gates to the Underealm anytime. The Equinox is pending and that will allow the gates to open automatically, but having the key will give them access anytime basically. And it's more important than ever to find it when their enemies are moving in closer to look for it themselves!

This became the main mission of the book to find the Key, and then after that, plan their next move to use said Key.

I really enjoyed this one! At first I thought having all these different characters being thrown at me would be too overwhelming, and maybe it was a bit at first due to my poor memory of the first book, but after I got over that, it got REALLY exciting and REALLY enjoyable! I didn't want to put this read down for anything and that pretty much led me to finish it in a day!

One character that always draws the most emotions from me--besides Haden and Dax that is!--is Joe, Daphne's dad. The way he was just such a crappy father and what he did to get his fame irked me as it did Daphne. But then you look at him trying so, so hard to be a better dad for Daphne that it tore my poor, neglected heart up--needless to say I have my own father issues, but I won't get into those details, basically this relationship struck a chord in me. And then seeing the changes in the father later on, really tore me up inside. Basically, my emotions went all over the place and I was near tears because of how he acted in the end.

Haden and Daphne is another tragic story, we have Haden madly in love with Daphne and we aren't too sure where she stands. And then "stuff" happens and once again, my heart was going all over the place! I was a freaking wreck you guys! This read seriously tore me to pieces!! So many different relationships threatening to tear me apart...I swear Bree had to be maniacally laughing wherever she was, seeming to psychically know what she was doing to her ARC readers. Oh Bree...but I still love you! ;)

The ending is definitely the killer! The kind of ending that leaves you screaming! And I did! There was so much action, so much danger, so much suspense! I was gripping the chair I sat in as I read this on my Kindle. It was so very intense, I would've been gripping the spine had it been a real book! It was really that intense! And the ending, oh those very last moments where you aren't sure the fate of everyone and THEN there's just one more chapter and you are like OHMYGOD I really have to wait another year for the next book?! Because it really, really, went there! It went into territories one never wishes to see when one has to wait yet another year for the next book! It was that kind of cliffhanger! Yes, it was a killer cliffhanger! I have died yet another reader's death thank you very much! 

I continue to love these Greek mythology kind of tales! Greek mythology was always a favorite subject of mine and I love how this one forgoes the Persephone myth--nothing wrong with it, just one of the more popular myths. Instead this one is more of an Orpheus-Cupid/Psyche combo with a little bit of Persephone thrown in, but only vaguely! It's definitely a mishmash of sorts and it makes the read all the more incredible!

The Eternity Key is a fast-paced action pack kind of read! The romance is the sweet, tearful kind that always touches my heart and I seriously loved every single minute of this book! Even the times where I still struggled to regain memory of what happened previously, I was enjoying every single minute of this one! 

Now I'm going to go rock in a corner until the next book comes out. See you later! ;)


Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars--just a minor knockoff that is more so to do with me not being able to remember what has already happened previously, not one that in anyway deteriorates from the enjoyment of the novel for other readers!


The Eternity Key releases May 12, 2015