love Anna Strong books, JEANNE STEIN stories are so good i finshed this book on my kindle indays, Anna is once again on a mission but this time it is her own mission to determine if she can be turned back to human, Is this what she wants or is it because she thinks she wants it, Anna calls out to her friend Daniel Frey to help, She seeks a shaman to answer this question but it is a shaman on a reservation daniel is familar with only because his little boy lives there, After a deadly accident happens on the rez, Anna is forced to find answers for herself as well as the lil boy of her friend frey whom anna has made a place in her heart for him.
Anna
quest to find out the truth is one she may have wanted to be answered but at whos cost, I always enjoy reading a anna strong story due to how strong she is on the outside as well as inside and fierece to protect her own, Audiobook I like most Anna Strong books because she is such a strong character, The last book really had me looking forward to what this book would bring as far as Anna's future is concerned, I think far too much time was spent on the same emotional problems that she's had since book one, Please if Ms. Stein could just kill off David already! The new partner in the business is at least interesting, If you've never read any book in the series, I would go back to book one, which is one of the author's best in the series, As for this book, it was okay, but if you choose to wait for it to get discounted you won't be missing much, The story was good and, for the most part, I enjoyed it, as I watch Anna Strong growing into her role as The Chosen One, However, Jeanne Stein is among the ever increasing number of writers who seem to think that replacing the objective pronoun "me" with the subjective pronoun "I" is grammatically acceptable.
For me, constantly reading sentences that have such blatant errors in them distract from an otherwise interesting story line, I want to continue to read about Anna's progress but knowing I will be assaulted by more grammatical errors will make me think twice about continuing with this series.
Jeanne Stein's latest in her Anna Strong Vampire novels, Crossroads, takes Anna on a journey with her shifter friend Frey far across the states,
The story opens up with Max needing a favor from Anna, he needs to track a possible vampire that is helping Mexicans cross the border, yet kills them before they reach American soil.
This part of the story sounded really really familiar to me, I haven't read Chosen since last year, but for some reason I swear that this part of the story came from it, it just sounded so familiar, yet I couldn't find it in the the other book.
But regardless, that's not the important part of the story, It actually takes place before Anna even sets out on the life changing journey and is solved and closed up, But still, I might have to dig deeper into the other books to find it, It just kept bugging me while I read,
Moving on! Anna and Frey are headed out towards a reservation where Chael claims there is a shaman that can restore Anna's humanity, She would no longer be a vampire or The Chosen One, but regain her humanity, something she's wanted since becoming a vampire, Yet something doesn't feel right,
Still Anna and Frey make the journey and there are some surprises awaiting Anna, Like the fact that Frey has a child there who lives with his mother the child's, not Frey's, But it soon becomes apparent that something sinister is going on on the reservation when tragedy strikes, And who else but Chael happens to be there at the time, Judith,
Basically a murder mystery starts, and I love a good mysteryreminds me of my days of watching ScoobyDoo! Anyways I had some of the mystery right, but not all of it.
In the end things are wrapped up nicely as they always are, And there's a big decision Anna has to make, which it sorta becomes obvious what it is and what she will choose,
Overall it was a pretty good story, Besides the part that felt like I've read before, and the rest it made a good story, There wasn't a whole lot of romance or romantic tension which was kind of sad, I was hoping for some sparks, but oh well, Still look forward to seeing more of this series and finding out how it all ends!
Overall rating,/I literally can say thank goodness I did not follow my quirky moods this time, About/through the book I thought this book is not moving forward, I don't like how this is going, I'm done. I picked it up again and read anotherpages and realized I was very wrong, I was saddened by one of the changes in it, But, I was happy that the change was different than how most authors handle a huge change that kind of shakes things up, I'm in a quirky mood where I cannot pick anything of the literally thousands of books in my library, not to mention the hundreds on my Kindle and/or Nook.
I'm extremely picky right now so a book has aboutpages before I drop it even if it is going well, If my mood doesn't fit I put it down, I'm so happy I did not do this with Crossroads, I am sorry to know that there are onlyleft but, I'm betting they will be wonderful, It was well written and a good book overall, However I am sad for Anna, she deserves love and all her friends seem to be going in different directions and leaving her all by herself, She is a vampire and has hung onto her humanity by being with the people she loves and protecting them but what about her She needs someone to love her too, someone who will stay by her side for an eternity.
Although she is with Stephen now, he is human and won't be around for long, I'd love to see Max change and both of them accept each other, There is a bond there, even though Max was too weak in the other books, he has changed now, grew with courage and strength, I'm hoping Anna get's with someone she can better relate to and love openly, I read this because I thought Anna and Max are getting back together, but nope, he just made an appearance, To me he is the best for her, So Anna is running around saving the world with yet another man interest, How many she will have before the end of the book is a conundrum, I didnt enjoy this series no more, but I just want to know where it ends, Some of the scenes are looking like Ive read them before too, The description of this book is a little misleading as it pertains to events that happen in the very beginning of the book, Crossroads is an very accurate title for the real story, as it is a journey with a major choice at the end, We're talking life altering. Anna has a big decision to make after a huge carrot is dangled in front of her, the chance to become human again, As she travels to find the cure with the help of Frey, she finds trouble in the most unlikely places, If she isn't careful her next step might just be the last one she ever makes,
Anna has always been a very brash character, constantly making hasty decisions on the fly, So, I was glad to see her take a step back to really consider the consequences of such a major decision, Something like that would be bound to have a steep price, both personally and due to her position as Chosen, potentially to all of humankind, Anna may think she isn't worthy of being in such a position, but I have to disagree, The entire time she is weighing her choice, the personal cost wasn't the roadblock, but the cost to others, Another worry of Anna's is that she can now kill too easily without remorse, making her no better than a monster, I'll have to disagree with that as well, She needs that ability due to her position, and since she never uses it on anyone who isn't evil or intent on hurting others, I don't think her conscience should worry so much.
I really love the dynamic between Frey and Anna, I'm kind of rooting for them as a couple in the long run despite their respective significant others, They just seem to be kindred spirits who understand one another completely, It's kinda funny that they have such a close bond when you consider their inability to read one another's minds due to Anna's long ago mistake, Perhaps it is because of this broken psychic connections that they are able to be so close by being able to let their guards down rather than constantly having to shield from one another constantly.
Either way, something about them just seems to work and I can help hoping for more, Of course only time will tell and the twists in this book will make things more difficult than before, but I still think they have a solid chance.
I'll be keeping my fingers crossed,
I think Crossroads may just be my favorite Anna Strong novel yet, It had a completely different feel to it than the previous books, Some of that is due to the change in location, but mostly it is due to Anna's growth and acceptance into who she is, The Anna we knew from the first book would have jumped through any hoops she could to become mortal again despite the consequences, yet this Anna completely weighed her options to make her choice in the end.
According to Jeanne Stein's website, there are only two more books left in the series, Things have been set in motion now and I cannot wait to see where everything ends up in the end, Hopefully Anna will get a least a little slice of happiness in the end, She sure has earned it,
In the seventh Anna Strong book, Crossroads, Jeanne C, Stein begins to poke at her heroine with loose threads from previous books, Everything seems to bring Anna circling back to the choices she has made since the vicious attack that made her a vampire and she had no say in that.
This book is very much about choices, Anna has time to think about the decisions she has made and contemplates her internal war between her vampire self and human self, Surrounding this internal struggle is the backdrop Navajo west, Stein has created layers and layers of contrasts in this novel, The modern world against the Navajo traditions, The comforts of technology against the harshness of the western land, There is no preaching in this book about what is right and what is wrong which so often happens when authors bring in strong traditional cultures, Stein rather focuses on the story and allows the reader to feel the pull of both sides of every argumentmuch like her characters would,
This is just a Crossroads in Anna Strongs story, Stein is building up to something good, Readers will feel it coming like Anna feels the drums banging through the mountain at one point in this story, You cant quite hear it yet, . . you dont know what the words will be, . . but you feel the beat there and it will be powerful and awesome when it comes, Keep reading Stein and Anna Strong and youll be rewarded, This is easily a standalone book in the increasingly fascinating Anna Strong vampire series, You don't need to know anything about Anna to read this book, although of course it's great to read the series from the start, But if you're thinking of dabbling, give Crossroads a try, Anna spends a great deal of time in the Southwest desert country and Jeanne C, Stein makes the whole landscape come alive the sights, the smells, the entire vast desert vistas and storms,
Best of all, this novel takes us into a supernatural creature's world and it isn't all moping and pathos, There's a fierce joy in Anna's strength and her abilities as a vampire, The description of Anna running at vampire speed in the desert night was so beautiful and evocative that it made me feel like I was running right along with her.
The characters are all deeply realized and distinct and as always, the plot ticks along like a perfectly constructed watch, delivering chills and twists, Jeanne C. Stein just keeps getting better and better,
.stars. My fav of the series so far, Rating.
Genre Urban Fantasy
Crossroads is the seventh installment in the Anna Strong Chronicles by Jeanne C, Stein. For Anna, it has been two months since she was named the Chosen one, or the leader of thevampire tribes as well as the person destined to resist the dark forces in the vampire community that seeks to dominate mankind and make them food sources only.
Anna has to face several new challenges including the arrival of Detective Harris of the San Diego PD who is looking into Police Chief Warren Williamss death.
He goes on to tell Anna that they have found some startling new information that just doesnt make any sense, Of course, Anna, being the last person to see Williams alive, and knows what really happened, is a prime candidate for Detective Harriss investigation,
The second challenge comes after Anna is approached by her former lover Max, a DEA agent who she hasnt seen inmonths, Max asks for her assistance in what he believes is a vampire killing illegal aliens crossing into the US, Anna, while weary and still angry at Max for dismissing her so easily after discovering she was a vampire, agrees to help, It seems however, that the ploy was set in motion by Annas direct challenger Chael who has some interesting information for Anna,
That, of course, is the third challenge since Chael has thrown out an interesting concept in that he can lead Anna to her hearts desire to revert back to being human once again, and living life away from the supernatural community and thus putting her family and friends out of danger.
Chael claims that there is a Native American shaman who has the capability of bringing the dead back to life,
Of course, anyone including Anna, knows that Chael only wants the moniker of Chosen one and doesnt care who he has to hurt in order to gain his goals.
Chael is one of those vampires who wish to relegate humans to nothing more than fodder, and an expendable food source doing their masters, the vampires, bidding,
The last challenge is Annas reunion with Daniel Frey, the panther shape shifter who is also the Keeper of the Secrets for the supernatural community and their travels to the Navajo Indian lands in Arizona where we learn a little more about Frey's background.
Frey, who has been with Anna from the beginning of her change into a vampire, was a welcome addition back to the story that has seen Anna suffer so much since becoming a vampire.
Crossroads is an interesting name for this book since Anna has to make more difficult choices that can either lead her back to her mortality, or continue on as the protector and soldier for goodness within the vampire community.
The ending itself, was as expected with Anna going one way, and her only real friend in the world going another, I'm not sure in what direction this series is heading, but I will definitely look forward to seeing where Anna goes from here,
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