My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book is one of those situations where I feel like the whole thing was great and was a fun ride. All the details that made up the story however I have mixed feelings about. There are a few character interactions that came off awkward and to be honest just a little bit uncomfortable. These interactions (involving Willow specifically) had me constantly wonder if the story was going to go in a direction that I would absolutely not be happy with. This constant concern did kill a bit of my enjoyment as I was reading. Everything outside of this fact was fun and felt pretty on-brand for a BtVS story. I enjoyed the plot and introduction of new characters. I felt like they will be able to keep carrying the story to its conclusion comfortably.
All My Thoughts
May contain spoilers.
I have very mixed feelings about this book. In general, I liked it. I love getting to see a new story in the BtVS universe. This was an interesting take on a sequel to the series without it actually being all about the same characters. Frankie is a fun protagonist. Obviously, we don’t have too much exposition since she is already in the know when it comes to the Slayers and their roll in the world. She is in the unique position of knowing being possibly the only Slayer left alive in addition to a very powerful witch thanks to her mother Willow. I liked the ensemble cast and the overarching plot, that by the end we know will continue into another book was intriguing and I am genuinely curious to find out what happened to all the other Slayers.
The author does a pretty good job of reminding its audience where things left off at the end of the series. I honestly can’t comment on if this makes it easy for newcomers of Buffy the Vampire Slayer to jump in. I am very familiar with the series. My instinct is to not recommend it. I don’t feel that it would have the same impact if you didn’t understand the history of some of the characters.
The storyline in the book is extremely on-brand for a BtVS story. It feels like something that could have been in the series when it still aired. I do think that some aspects fall a bit heavy to some of the earlier themes of the series that kind of phased out over the series. All of the girls in the book come off very boy crazy. Not a bad thing exactly, but it just feels like an outdated plot device that didn’t need to be there. Along this line is my issue with how Willow was handled. She is a secondary character to the story, which is perfect because it’s not about her. Often when she was present though it felt like her sexuality was being questioned simply because her ex-boyfriend was around. This happened way more than I would have liked. This feels very much like foreshadowing to them getting back together, which handled differently would not have been an issue. But the author’s constant need to reaffirm that “Yes Willow is gay. The ex that she had really strong feelings for is right here. Like really strong, but totally gay!” was completely unneeded. I found that I just kept waiting for this to happen again. This really didn’t feel okay whether or not it was the intention. As a side character, this doesn’t change much to the major “monster of the week” style plot, but that doesn’t change the way it comes off while reading.
Overall
This was a fun new perspective of what could have happened with the series continuing. It’s fun to see some old characters and get to know new ones. I think taken as a whole, it was fine, but the details chip away at what could have been a better BtVS story.
I am a HUGE Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan. If you want to learn more about that and a deeper opinion of the book I just reviewed, check out my other blog:
Tome Reader Reviews 