Review--Against the Darkness by Kendare Blake

 

This epic finale to the The Next Generation trilogy by New York Times bestselling author Kendare Blake ( Three Dark Crowns ) features the next generation of Scoobies and Slayers who must defeat a powerful new evil.

For generations, the Slayer was supposed to be the chosen, the one girl in all the world with the power to stand against the vampires, demons, and forces of darkness. When Willow used the scythe to call up all the potential slayers at once, it changed everything. For years, the slayers have been working and fighting together as a team.

Then the Darkness came, killing many slayers and trapping the rest in an alternate dimension. And Frankie Rosenberg, the world’s first Slayer-Witch, found herself fighting evil alone. Sort of.

Sure, she has her new Scooby Gang, plus the help of her mom, Willow; Watcher, Spike; and even the brooding-but-hot Hunter of Thrace. But even though they have a master plan (obviously), the gang is more fragmented than ever.

So maybe it really is up to Frankie—and Frankie alone—to stand against the darkness. With Jake’s wild werewolf brother back in town, Dark Willow threatening to return, and the Darkness preparing for the final stage of their attack, now is not a great time to wallow in teen angst. After all, she’s the Slayer. It’s time to slay.

 

After a long, long, long and tremulous journey I finally had Kendare Blake's Against the Darkness in hand and ready to devour because omg, I could not wait to see how this book would end! This was yet another perfectly fitting addition to the Buffyverse and I was thrilled to read Blake's stories!

Having just wrote a post not too long ago about media-tie in books, it's something new when you come across series like this! Ones that contribute to a TV show you loved and adored, yet this is still something entirely new and different in your hands. Although, unlike another incredible YA author's duology that runs along the same lines as this one, Blake's story includes some of our OG Buffy characters a little more. To my recollection, that one might have just named dropped with maybe an occasional cameo appearance here or there, in this one, the OG characters are pretty tightly involved and I LOVED that! I loved seeing these characters I've know for years and years. While they are not at center stage of the story, they do play heavily on the stage and even have their own chapter moments too, so this truly is the BEST Buffy series addition ever!

Now, onto the story at large! Many things are going on when we start. We get bits and pieces of a recap, and luckily I had my notes, but I would not have minded a "previously on Frankie the Vampire Slayer" kind of recap! Lol. Anyway, Frankie and her Scoobies are somewhat separated, as Frankie's BFF, Hailey, is playing double agent and trying to get on Aspen's "good side" to get more details on what her actual plan is. The problem is that Hailey starts to think that Aspen truly just wants to have the power to choose or reject her Slayer powers and possibly return to a normal life. Frankie isn't convinced though and as you might imagine, this causes a bit of tiff between besties. I don't want to call it a "riff" as this angst doesn't last too long.

While Hailey deals with that, Frankie and the rest try to find a spell that could possibly bring Buffy and the other Slayers back. With the help of her witchy mother, Willow, and her awesome Watcher, Spike this isn't as hard as it would normally be. But when the super duper powerfully dark magic spell book they find is just a little too enticing for Willow, they might be getting themselves into deeper trouble rather than out of it.

I love that we continued getting so many different points of view in this one! It's not at all overwhelming, we largely get Frankie's point of view, but every once in awhile we switch to another character and it happens seamlessly like a scene change in a Buffy episode on TV. 

I guess I was a little forlorn that there wasn't as much romantic tension between Frankie and Grim this time around. It's still there for part of the story, but alas, it seems for this story arc of Frankie's, romance isn't at the top of her list, but it's still on the list! There were other reasons behind this that will be revealed as you read, but alas, I couldn't help but wish for something more. And to think at book 1, I was trying to puzzle out a love triangle with Frankie, Grim, and Jake! That went nowhere fast! Lol.

This was a well paced book! If I hadn't been so tired this week or busy, I might have finished it sooner! But yeah, I can't ignore the call of sleep like I used to! This book truly feels like an episode of Buffy: The Next Generation! Lol. I mean, we did get a whole new batch of Slayers at the end with new rules, so to speak. Blake really did her research and it doesn't hurt at all that she is a Buffy fan! Kind of comes with the criteria for writing a book like this, and it truly shows! We do get to see another Buffy alum make an appearance that hadn't been around in the last two books--if I recall correctly! So that was fun! I loved all these cameos it was just. So. Cool.

This is the series finale folks! I don't think Blake will be writing another "season" with these characters. It does seem fitting to give the book a good ending yet one with a few carefully placed loose-ends, should the door ever want to be opened again. Just like the Buffy series finale did. So while we had to say goodbye to the Scoobies of old and new, it was a nice run! A very nice run indeed! But honestly, if anyone writes any fan fiction of a sequel, hit me up because I saw all those tiny open door cracks! *wink, wink*

From start to finish this book and the trilogy at large was an action packed thrill ride! Buffy fans from casual to die-hard will want to read this series because it just soooo amazingly good and fits right into the Buffyverse! This was an incredible read and I am only sadden that it's over! Now if someone wants to write say, an Angel kind of Next Generation book, that would make my day! We all remembered how THAT one ended! Agh! But seriously, this is a book and series NOT TO BE MISSED! So do your vampire loving or vampire slaying heart a favor and pick this one up!

Overall Rating 5/5 stars