Epic
Seriously, this book and continuation of this series was simply epic! I absolutely loved it! I finished book two last night and went on to click book three not realizing it wasn't a complete series yet and I about three a tantrum like a toddler denied treats when I released it wasn't released yet.
. . never mind the fact that it was just hours away, I was seriously disgruntled lol Lydia's character is amazeballs, I love her sass and humor so much, Aon is all misunderstood, Edu is a whole bag of dcms and now I wanna cry that I have to wait for the next release insert all the tears here Definitely recommend this series! I absolutely am in love with this series.
I am a very particular reader and I struck gold with these books, I'm not ashamed to say that I finished the three books in one day, I love the relationship between Aon and Lydia, even though he has a really dark side she still accepts him, I get tired of reading some of these books and the girl will whine and want to change the love interest the whole book.
She understands that even though he killed Nick it was because he was trying to save her, The book concept is also refreshing, I liked how she switched it up, that mythological creatures from earth derived from Under, The masks are cool too, the suspense was killing me to know what Aon looked like, and the "unveiling" scene did not disappoint, My ONLY complaint is that I wish the books were longer haha, I CANNOT wait until the next book, After how much I loved the previous book, this one was a little disappointing, The pace has sped up, Edu is still an idiot and everyone else is playing both sides, I love both Lydia and Aon, but Lydia was a coward and Aon was on a lovesick overprotective streak, It was getting a little annoying, but I'm curious about the end so will continue, Q is great too.
Issues I had with this one:
Nick Did he mean so little to Lydia or does she love Aon that much,
Prophecy No one has ever stopped a prophecy and they are so up vague, The friend part made me laugh, Nick died and Aon sent Lyon as a 'friend', Then there is Evie.
It got stupid but its a whole world of monsters and forgiveness all around and that,
Man, this is getting seriously dark, I love it.
I really don't know what to make of my immense enjoyment of this series, What exactly is it that draws me in so effortlessly Is it the characters Most certainly the biggest strength of the series, yes, but it's so much more, . . The story, the universe, the imagery, the writing, the uniqueness of it all, . . Fuck if I know. Just gimme more!
I freaking adore Lydia, She's so levelheaded, smart and resilient, After everything she's been put through since being dragged to the World of Under, she still manages to stand straight and find compassion for the people who've wronged her.
I loved Q and their interactions, Their banter was hilarious and provided some very welcome comic relief in an otherwise pretty fucking tense and dark story,
"Why is it that I wound up anthropomorphizing my power into a jackass"
"Says more about you than it does about me, Cupcake, "
And Aon, . . after the first two books, I was certain that nothing he could do would possibly shock me anymore, but hoo boy, was I ever wrong, Kingley made good on her promise to not let him go soft, He's still the unhinged, despicable, sadistic fiend I love to hate and hate to love so much, and who makes my heart beat faster and my head explode, I'm such a sucker.
What a convoluted, complicated man, Torturing her, tearing out her heart, confessing his love to her and promising to do more, all in the same breath,
One point of criticism, though: I'd rather this book was a little longer, hence me withdrawing one star, Considering that Lydia spends probably more than half of the time confined in her special chamber, I really could've done with some more actual action afterward, I just wasn't fully satisfied before I got hit with yet another cruel cliffhanger,
Still, one of the best series I've come across in a long time, Can't wait for!
There was a surge of that familiar fear and delight that mixed together whenever he was around, He was a monster. But he was her monster,.
This book felt a bit slower than the first, We got some more info on some of the players, our Queen of Dreams was dealt a tough blow, poor Aon
Looking forward to the next one,
Would love these on audio So much love
What can I say, I'm a gluten for punishment, The feels are too much, Q is my new best friend and I need book four yesterday, It was okay
I think I had too high of an expectation for this book and was thinking it would take on a different route than what it did.
I imagined action and drama and chaos was going to erupt after Lydia woke up from the pool of ancients but really it was more of a “steppingstone” type of book introducing Lydias new powers and the different changes in Under with a new dream leader around.
Some backstories on the characters and the reasons why the way they are etc, was in there as well, Which is kind of understandable as there arebooks in the series but still I guess I wanted MORE,
We all knew about Aon and Lydias feelings for each other and for them to have the chance to finally be together again after our hearts were broken in the last book and to see how they dont really take it bummed me out.
. . i mean I get why, with the whole best friend thing that happened but their relationship to me just felt awkward after awhile and I kinda lost sight of their whole bond thing they had going for them in the first two books.
Also OMG Nicky
The story kind of seemed like it was repeating over and over again, Lydia being scared, Aon protecting her, Edu wanting to kill Lydia AGAIN it was tiring and I got so excited to start reading about a new character developing Rxa that I almost screamed in frustration because by that time he was introduced in his white winged flurry the book was over.
. . like whyyy! Turns out the next book is why,
I am hoping the fourth book brings some more vava voom to the story especially in bringing back our favorite sassy, sarcastic, bada Lydia and not the shadow of herself she was in this book.
Edu drove me absolutely crazy so Im hoping Rxa puts him in his place more often, I mean a girls can hope, Also weird side note I dont trust Evie so Im keeping an eye out for that one, I think in the end Aon went for the wrong “friend”,
MY FAV HIGHLIGHT OF THE WHOLE BOOK: we finally know what our favorite baddie looks like!
So yeah waiting on bookwith high hopes, Another WOW
Holy cow this book was good, . . and heartbreaking at the same time, The pain inflicted upon both Lydia and Aon pulled all the heart strings, I cannot wait for the next book to see what happens next and find out more about our newly awoken King of Blood, And fingers crossed some happier times for our main couple, Aon needs his HEA. Even though he does terrible things in this book you still feel for him, This is the third installment in The Masks of Under series and it does not disappoint! My favorite book in the series so far!
This book starts right where the second book ends and just grabs your heart.
I had to sit down and just process everything that happened before I could write this, Kathryn Kingsley has already proven that she can create an amazing and interesting world with characters that you care about, She really adds depth for Aon in this one though, His emotional range is so much deeper than you are originally led to believe, On the other side of that though is Edu, I dont think he can get past his grudge with Aon, no matter what it will cost, I get tired of his onetrack mind,
As long as Kathryn continues the series as shes written the previous books, I have no doubt that The Mask of Under will become one of my favorite series!
So.
It's well written. But I can't help but feel muddled about the events that transpired and the reasoning behind it,
In short I think everyone in this is a bit witless and willfully blind, I'm also pissed at the way things have fallen, Mainly I'm pissed at Lydia,
I can't wrap my head around someone who forgives their lover after murdering their best friend, You've known one guy for a few weeks, The other has had your back and been like a brother
for five years,
I get it, This world is different in morals and values, I get that it was prophesied, I also get that aon is painted out to be this tragic loveless figure who only wanted love, I get he did it thinking to save Lydia,
I don't get why this is fine and forgivable, I don't get why everyone is like 'whatevs go fuck the warlock already' and how this somehow isn't disrespectful to Nick who did everything in his power to protect her and be there for her.
I don't get why romantic love and sex is being put above the love Nick had for Lydia even if it wasn't romantic, I don't get why this is fine because everyone dies eventually, There were choices here and the worst ones were made,
Yes aon is a tragic sympathetic creature, He's also a cruel torturer who gets off on hurting people in the worst ways, He also murdered innocent people, including Nick, because he wanted or thought he was right to do so,
Yes it's sad, Sometimes though the weight of what someone has done is greater than whatever humanity they may have left, Like serial killers. Bad childhood doesn't outweigh the suffering and death they caused,
And it's for this reason I don't think I'll be continuing the series,
There's one rule to remember folks, bros before murdering, genocidal, cruel, sociopathic hoes,
So, so happy I've found this series, It. Is. Damn. Good.
To make it easy for you,
If you like original and interesting new worlds,
If you like strong and funny main characters,
If you like fuckedup things,
And most importantly if you like romance where the love interest is a tortured antihero and kind of evil,
Then happy reading.
if not, then I kinda' feel bad for you because you'll never know just how awesome these books are I died,
It was supposed to be the end of my story, But after Aon buried me in the Pool of the Ancients, I learned that Under wasnt done with me yet,
Even though I escaped death the first time, theres a prophecy predicting my demise, and its driving Aon mad, His desperation to protect me is dangerous, deadly, and Im afraid of what he might do,
The void that threatens to destroy this world is receding, yet Under is still not safe, I can feel it in my blood, the warning that something terrible is coming, Something bigger and stronger than all of us,
But I am no longer the human girl merely fighting for survival, Im different now, changed into something this world hasnt seen in fifteen hundred years,
I am immortal, a queen of Under,
I am the Queen of Dreams, I galloped through this one,
A lot is going on, A lot. So much to unpack. But mainly, the main theme in this is that freaking Edu is a stupid dumbass, I cant stand him. Like hes sooooooooo blind to his own bias he cant see the details, He messes everything up in this story, Hes super annoying.
But Aon is also wow, Theres so much. Hes definitely intelligent but crazy, Like for real. I cant believe what he did, but I also can, I also suspect that he was wrong, and it was in reference to the red head,
This book has some swoon moments though in all its fucked up monster glory,
I may take a break or I might go onto the next one, I dont knowtotally absorbed. . Man I hope this series keeps up the momentum! So far it has just kept getting better and better, I think I had to break down and ask myself what is wrong with me several times, How can what Aon is doing be right, . Why are we still so lost for him, Its so crazy how the righteous in this story is so obviously the bad guy, We have prophecies that have been told that our characters think they have thwarted but can anyone really thwart fate, . I believe that our characters have needlessly suffered because I feel like its fixing to get real down under, .
Lydia has been awakened, . and is more than she was, but also the same, Fighting her fate down to the very last breath, . literally. Because she is unable to accept her new role she has heaped needless suffering on top of herself, . and who better than to give it to her but the lord of darkness himself, In his mind Aon must protect Lydia at all costs until she accepts her fate and unlocks her powers even if it means causing her pain, Meanwhile Edu continues to plot his vengeance not caring if extracting it means the end of under for everyone, .
Not going to lie I'm so ready for Lydia to woman up, embrace her role, and unleash the beast on most of these people here, Embrace the madness, revel in it and then rule it!! Can't wait for book!,