Author: Courtney Cole
Publisher: Lakehouse Press
Published: April 21, 2011
Format: Paperback* 250 pages
17-year old Macy Lockhart is as far from normal as any one girl can be. The problem is, she doesn’t know it yet.My Review:
After a bloodstone pendant is mysteriously left on her door, Macy’s life begins to change in ways she’d never dreamed. And while she will eventually come to realize that nothing is ever what it seems, that her life is a tangled web of lies and the Fates themselves pull the strings, for now she is left with only the explanations that they offer her.
Macy is led to believe that if she doesn’t return to a previous doomed life, one in which she served as Queen Cleopatra ‘s handmaiden, the fate of the entire world will be threatened in a way that would destroy history as we know it. She learns that she has lived thousands of lives, each one ending tragically…but none as tragic as this one.
After returning to ancient Egypt, she is faced with heart-wrenching decisions. Unless she interferes with Fate’s plan, the very thing she was born to protect, her soul mate will die leading Marc Antony’s forces against Rome. Can she really stand aside and watch the love of her life die all over again?
Every Last Kiss really starts strong with a powerful and gripping prologue and ends with a heart-warming and even better ending that definitely stayed with me for a very long time.
I was completely blown away by how amazing Every Last Kiss was. I didn’t know what to expect with the story, but with Courtney Cole’s brilliant ability to weave simplistic and elegant writing with the perfect mixture of history, fantasy and paranormals aspects, I fell in love with the story so much. I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of past lives and Egyptian mythology. The plot was refreshing and complex and entirely riveting.
I was so mesmerized by the rich and vivid imagery that Courtney Cole used in Every Last Kiss. I didn’t just imagine Alexandria, I really felt like I was there. When I closed my eyes it felt like I was feeling the warm breeze blow my hair back or smelling the sweet scent of jasmine that basically became familiar the more I read the story with Charmian. It’s very rare for a book to actually take me to the setting like I was really there with the characters. It was a little surprising, but also beautiful all at once. I love the pacing because it slowly builds up to the action and the heart of the book.
I loved Macy/Charmian’s character. Although Macy and Charmian are one, I thought Macy was funny and cool and very easy going while Charmian was sassy, smart and tough. Together, they made one brilliant narrator. She had this inner strength that really showed throughout the book, but she also had this vulnerability that made her truly remarkable. Despite all the doubts she had, I thought Charmian made the right decisions based on her beliefs. I really thought that Charmian handled all the problems head on and she was so brave. I love her loyalty towards Cleopatra and her relationship with her. Charmian and Cleopatra were like best friends, practically sisters. Their affection for each other was very sweet and I adored how much both cared for one another.
Some books allow the romance to take over and have the plot center around it, but for Every Last Kiss it was a piece of it, a part of the whole picture. The romance didn’t overtake the plot, but it was still a vital piece to the story. However small or big the romance was, I did love Charmian and Hasani. Their relationship was much more mature and had much more depth compared to Macy and Derek’s. I saw how perfect Charmian and Hasani were for each other and I felt how much they loved one another. I had no doubt that these two were soul mates. I love how even though they both had duties, they still gave each other love and time. It was wonderful seeing Charmian light up around him, becoming a much calm person. Hasani was everything Charmian described and so much more. He was a true warrior, but he was beautiful, tall and regal. He had a tough exterior, but on the inside he was super sweet and he was kind and gentle. I can see why Charmian loved him so much.
I love the added aspect of altering the future, changing the past and seeing how a small change can bring everything into chaos. It really brought another perspective into the book and it also made me see how important it was that changing the past ultimately changes the future and this cannot always be a good thing know matter how much we want it to be. I like the tie in with the Bloodstone and how everything was centered around it. I enjoyed at wondering how much power the Bloodstone had. The mystery of it all made me want to know more. I did wish I got a little more information on the past lives before Charmian was Macy. I thought it would have been a nice addition to see how Charmian lived life after life just out of my own curiosity. I also wish I got to know more about the Order of the Moirae, but the glimpses of them along with the mysteriousness of it had me intrigued even more so I hope to learn more about the Order in the next books to come.
Overall, Every Last Kiss was a beautiful story filled with love, sacrifice and suspense. The plot and characters really take you to a time to when Egypt flourished. The whole book was enchanting and it definitely swept me off my feet.
My Rating:
4.5 out of 5 stars
*Thanks to Courtney Cole for sending me review copy :)
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This book sounds amazing! The cover is stunning but was a little misleading. I was betting it to be an angel book =)) Egyptian Mythology isn't anything new to me now that Rick Riordan wrote a series on it but I think it's also nice for me to learn myths from another author... like Cole. :>
ReplyDeleteGreat Review, Jessirae :D