Hello friends, happy Monday! I hope you’re all doing well. Today I’m going to be updating this blog for the last time to add my review of the last novel in Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Chronicles of Nick series, Intensity.

Now I read this before reading anything else Kenyon has wrote (she’s written a hellava lot) but I believe to fully understand these novels you have to read her Dark Hunters novels first. (I’m on my way to reading those.) I just say this because there were a lot of creatures introduced that I had no idea what they were, and I feel like they would be introduced in those novels, as they are all “Dark Hunters, or creatures” (I really hope I’m not wrong about that!) But on with this series. It’s not over, more novels still have to come out, I believe Kenyon has a novel scheduled to be released every year for the next couple years, that is if Goodreads is correct. But so far here is what’s happening.

Infinity by: Sherrilyn Kenyon: The first novel in the Chronicles of Nick, where we meet Nick. A fourteen-year-old boy who thinks he knows everything there is to know about the world. Well, he’s dead wrong. Zombies are attacking and with the help of others he must defeat them. It’s a world where werewolves, vampires and other creatures live, only Nick hasn’t found out or figured out how he fits into the equation. The novel’s plot was good, but the way the author executed it didn’t work so well. Character’s points of view would just switch, and the reader would get confused because they don’t know whose thoughts their reading. You needed to pay close attention to that. The characters themselves were interesting, you learn a lot about them, but they still feel very flat. Overall, this novel could have been done better, because the plot has so much potential.

Invincible by: Sherrilyn Kenyon: The second novel in the Chronicles of Nick. Every day Nick is finding out more and more about how different a world he’s living in. Now that he’s helped defeat half zombies, his high school is trying to get back to normal, or as normal as it can get. The new coach is a very suspicious character. Fourteen-year-old boys start showing up dead around the time the coach approaches Nick to do a few illegal things for him. It’s up to Nick to round up forces higher up then him to help save his butt from evil. The novel’s plot was easy to follow, and fast-paced. It was also very entertaining, although it gets a little hard to keep track of who is who when new characters keep being introduced. The novel also wavers through different points of view that at times the reader gets confused which character they’re reading about. Compared to the first novel, the plot was executed a lot better, and it was more engaging. Overall, this novel is better than the first, but still isn’t the best. The story is intriguing as it continues to the next novel.

Infamous by: Sherrilyn Kenyon: The third novel in the Chronicles of Nick. Nick has a new batch of problems he needs to face down. There can never be anything normal at the school he attends. This time someone has created a website publicly outing every student, and telling lies. Some are more hurtful than others, and Nick takes it upon himself to find out who’s behind it all. Throw into the mix his father has searched him out to destroy him because of the powers he’s accumulating and getting better at. And let’s not forget about the young teenage romance that will definitely end badly as the girl he’s seeing is out to kill him. In a world of supernatural Nick is still trying to figure is way around it all. In this novel he’s more accustomed to the demons that he has to face, but dealing with his mother is a struggle. The author has created this mother hen character where she can be loveable, but at the same time she has no faith in her son, which makes the reader really annoyed when reading the scenes between the two. The main character, Nick, is starting to not come off as an annoying character full of angst. The plot is still really interesting, as a lot of creatures want Nick dead all for their own purposes. Overall, this novel is fast paced, and very enticing, the characters are maturing and are more enjoyable to read.

Inferno by: Sherrilyn Kenyon: The fourth novel in the Chronicles of Nick. Things are changing for good old Nick; breaking up with his girlfriend, only to acquire the lead cheerleader, Casey, his world has turned upside down. Now with Casey, he’s dressing differently and playing in bands, and that’s just in his “normal” life; in his supernatural life Nick’s father Adrian is now dying, and because of this Nick’s powers will get more powerful. His mother is kidnapped and the only people who know who it was are either dead, or can’t remember. Nick now has to be careful, and be on the lookout for someone who is after him. The novel’s plotline was good, and fast-paced with lots of action. The romance plotlines fell kinda flat just because the way the author wrote the characters. Nick, the main character hasn’t changed since the first novel, still whiney, still demanding attention, and otherwise being a teenager with teen angst. The other characters in his life are also filled with teen angst, or are thousand year old wanna be geniuses, who think they know it all. The characters aren’t the best to read, there is a lot of dry sarcastic dialogue thrown around that doesn’t need to be used all the time. Overall, the plot to these novels are moving slowly, and is dragging out, but the end of this novel, the author makes the reader want to find out where this series will go next.

Illusion by: Sherrilyn Kenyon: The fifth novel in the Chronicles of Nick. Continuing right where the previous novel left off, Nick is in an alter reality. Everyone he knows is now someone completely different, including himself. He must now find a way to get back to his reality. Now there are two Nicks running around, himself, and the Nick from the reality he’s currently in. Because of who he is, every demon, and supernatural being you can think of is after him and he must get back to his body so he can summon his powers to ward them off. It’s a gripping tale with the whole plot left unknown if Nick will be able to complete the task. A few things go wrong, and the worst kind of god from hell is unleashed, which will make for a very interesting novel. But this novel has really grown, and developed a lot. It took five novels for Nick, our main character, to not be so repulsive and to become actually readable and likeable. His coming of age really helps move his character developments along. The reader was left in suspense for a lot of the novel as the plot focused on getting back to the world the reader is used to. This novel was a nice change from the previous novels where Nick and his gang of supernatural friends have to ward off the bad guys; this one took the reader outside the walls of the story. Overall, it was a very crafty and fun to read novel.

Instinct by: Sherrilyn Kenyon: The sixth novel in the Chronicles of Nick. Nick learns a lot in this novel; from who is mom’s best friend really is, to obtaining, using, and controlling his inner demon powers. It’s a very action packed novel from start to finish. This novel, like many of the ones that come before it, Nick gets himself into a situation where he potentially can die, and his life is threatened. The reader is supposed to think that this will be the end of Nick, and the end of the world essentially, but he survives and comes back to save the day. This one was a tad bit shorter than the earlier novels, and it gets straight to the point, and straight to the action, which really made it fast-paced, and enjoyable to the reader. The reader also didn’t have to endure reading about Nick’s slightly annoying, and over barring mother, which was a bonus. Nick, as a character, is developing well; he’s not as teen-angst-y anymore, compared to the first two novels. He’s growing up, and he’s growing into the role of someone who has to take on the world pretty much, and it’s fun to read. Overall, this novel was a great follow up, and it feels like the novels are going to be getting better.

Invision by: Sherrilyn Kenyon: The seventh novel in the Chronicles of Nick. In this novel Nick learns a little bit more about himself. Knowing that he needs to stop the end of the world from happening, he’s transported into the future to see what the outcome of his actions are. Now possessing the Eye of Ananke this leads to more trouble. This novel was fast-paced, and action-packed. The writing wasn’t anything special, and the plot developed rather slowly. It felt like nothing really happened before the novel was over. Her characters were just pawns that she moved around because they didn’t develop in this novel, most of the time the characters came off cocky and angsty. It felt like Kenyon was going to bring in a plot, but then dropped it; maybe it comes back in the next novel, since there is definitely another one. This series is a complete guilty pleasure, it’s not the best, but you find yourself always coming back.

Intensity by: Sherrilyn Kenyon: Nick’s battle with his powers isn’t over. Being framed for murder and not knowing who he can trust he’s beginning to learn how his father was taken down in a similar manor. Nick must now battle against War and Death in order to embrace his new powers or else he’ll be sent to the darkness forever. For a final novel in a series, this sure didn’t feel like one. Instead, this read more of a why the main character, Nick, is important to the overall Dark-Hunter series and that there’s more to come. It felt like nothing happened in this novel. The beginning of this novel had potential as we see some conflict and a bit of rising action, but then it just flopped. Nick spirals and worries about his existence and Kenyon just keeps listing why he’s important by throwing a multitude of characters at the reader. If you haven’t read all of her Dark-Hunter series, all those names would go over the reader’s head. The way this ended felt really all over the place. Then there’s an bonus story that talks about Nick older, and we learn that there will be another series focusing on Nick which made this series feel like it was for nothing. That aside, this novel was fast-paced and it did feature characters from her other series that the reader enjoys, but the overall plot to this story wasn’t satisfying for a finale.