Review--Public Enemies by Ann Aguirre

Learn the rules of the game…and then play better than anyone else.

Through a Faustian bargain, Edie Kramer has been pulled into the dangerous world of the Immortal Game, where belief makes your nightmares real. Hungry for sport, fears-made-flesh are always raising the stakes. To them, human lives are less than nothing, just pieces on a board.

Because of her boyfriend Kian’s sacrifice, she’s operating under the mysterious Harbinger’s aegis, but his patronage could prove as fatal as the opposition. Raw from deepest loss, she’s terrified over the deal Kian made for her. Though her very public enemies keep sending foot soldiers—mercenary monsters committed to her destruction—she’s not the one playing under a doom clock. Kian has six months…unless Edie can save him. And this is a game she can’t bear to lose.

I really, really, ought to be binging series more often! Once again, I found it a bit of a struggle to dive into a world I haven’t visited in a few years. But at least this time, I’m able to binge the last two books. If only finding recaps for older books was as easy as it is to find recaps on the newer ones. Le sigh. I read my own review of Ann Aguirre’s Mortal Danger and was able to get the quick and dirty version of events, though all the outcomes were a mystery to me. When beginning Public Enemies, I was able to grasp some concepts and characters but not all of them. A lot of Edie’s friends were a mystery to me. I couldn’t remember if they were her friends from before or after her Faustian bargain. But as always, I just try to carry on!

Edie is to be a part of the immortal game, I couldn’t quite remember what this was, only knowing that it’s something dangerous and scary. As we have demons who run it and Edie is “employed” by one. Her boyfriend, Kian, is her predecessor and he now is more human, I guess you could say? He no longer works for Wedderburn or has all the perks. But his lifeline is dwindled down to a few months. He and Edie must make the best of the time that they have. Edie wants to find a way to get him out of the bargain he made that resulted in his time of dying coming much quicker than it should, another thing I couldn’t really remember. But Edie also wants to put an end to the game itself.

I feel like the last part of Mortal Danger was where all these new things and plot points came to life. And typically, I can’t really remember those points! Well, I guess not too oddly. I could recall her wanting to change how she looked in order to get back at her bullies and how they ended up dying by other demonic forces and all. So part of this book was a struggle for me since I couldn’t remember the demonic side of things. Edie is much more immersed with the dark side in this one. Try as she might to get out of it, it has a deep hold on her and Kian.

Edie is a remarkable character though! I love how she’s grown so much in this book (from the little that I can recall previously!). Edie is a force to be reckoned with, and yet she still comes across to you as relatable. I like that! Though she has tough time ahead of her in this one, I love her strength.

The romance between Kian and Edie continues to grow! It’s a sweet kind of romance and it doesn’t take over the entire storyline either. It’s merely there, yet you can still see the bond between these two is strong. I love these two together, in a kooky way of describing it, they complete each other! LOL! Yup, I went there!

The pacing to this one was good. Again, I had quite the bit of struggles trying to reacquaint myself with this world and the not-so-human varieties of it. Remembering Kian and Edie wasn’t a hardship, it was pretty much everyone else who came across as new to me! At times I wasn’t really sure who was friend or foe, but that’s just my burden to bare.

The ending was quite shocking! Sooo many twists and turns! I don’t know if I quite understand all that happened that led to the big finale, but again, rolling with things is what I do! I’m eager to see what will happen next after the cliffhanger that was thrust upon us at the end! This trilogy is definitely a unique one! I don’t think I’ve ever read one that was quite like this, and I must say even with my poor memory involved, I liked it! I just wish I could remember things better! LOL!

 
Overall Rating 3/5 stars