Review--Total Eclipse

UNNATURAL DISASTER

Weather Warden Joanne Baldwin has defeated her longtime enemy and saved the world--again. But at what cost? Standing at ground zero for the last attack, Joanne, the Djinn David, and the Earth herself have been poisoned by a substance that is destroying the magic that keeps the world alive.

Joanne and David have already lost their powers, but that's just the beginning. The poison that has seeped into the planet is destabilizing the entire balance of power, bestowing magic on those who have never had it and taking it at critical moments from those who need it. It's just a matter of time before the delicate balance of nature explodes into chaos, destroying mankind--and every living thing on Earth--with it.

Rachel Caine's Weather Warden series comes to an end with Total Eclipse and it was a very fast read. Mostly because I couldn't put it down yesterday and finished up the last few pages this morning. I'm sad to see the series go, but the characters deserve some rest after all the chaos they've gone through for the past 8 books.

But first they have to endure the chaos of book 9 before they can rest of course! And that's just where Total Eclipse starts. The Wardens are still on the cruise ship after the events of Cape Storm (you can see my review here if you want, it's an older one so it may not be pretty!) and as we know, David and Joanne are now both powerless, they're simply human. And what a time to be without their powers when the end of the world is coming. Mother Earth is waking up and she is not happy. She really wakes up this time and the chaos is seen across the world, not just in the states or wherever Jo happens to be.

The pacing was definitely gripping because the Djinn feel the call from the Mother and they are subjected to answer it and it results in many nasty scenarios. Bad enough that the Djinn like Ashan already wanted Jo dead, now she has to deal with ALL the Djinn wanting her dead whether the Djinn like it or not. The Mother controls them now.

Jo, David, Cherise and Kevin are off to do what they can to protect people from the devastation of the Mother. And their best bet is to try to talk to the Oracles to talk through them with the Mother, but as always complications arise! Djinn attack them heedlessly and that's only the beginning of the attacks. Soon there are animal attacks in just about every place they go.

Filled with lots of action this made the book go by so fast that I could scarcely believe my eyes when I saw that I was halfway finished yesterday, and then I read some more!

While there may be tons of action and the pace is well set to be gripping, where you don't even know if Jo will make it out of the situation alive, there wasn't a whole lot of romance between Jo and David unfortunately. There wasn't time. There were some moments between them that were tender and endearing, but as I said, there wasn't enough time for the characters to have some down time.

There was definitely some heartache towards the end and I won't tell you why. Because that would be really big spoilers. But yeah, there were definitely moments that made my heart ache. Won't say more.

There is a nice epilogue in the end that wraps up the series nicely. There are definitely some surprises to be had as well. Which is mentioned in the last chapter before the epilogue. But still many more small surprises as well. One of which I could sort of see coming once the end was nearing and the heat of the moment was picking up and you could feel the intensity and danger.

Cassiel and Lucas even make an appearance in the book and I can't wait to see where their next adventure takes place and if it is within the time frame of the epilogue which is set some years later. But we will have to wait til February for that answer!

Overall a fabulous read! 5/5 stars! This was without a doubt one of the best series that I read that went away from vampires and other supernatural creatures and was one of the first adult series that I read when I jumped from YA to adult. I've been a fan since book 1 and still am with book 9! It's tough to say goodbye to old friends (characters) like Jo and David, but that's why we buy the books so we can re-read them again and again!