BOOK REVIEW ~ EVENTIDE BY ELLE JASPER

Title: Eventide (The Dark Ink Chronicles, Book Three)

Author: Elle Jasper

Release Date: March 6, 2012 

Reviewer purchased own copy of book.

Newly-bitten tattoo artist Riley Poe feels herself changing in unimaginable ways. Eli Dupre, her vampire lover, has seen the change in her and fears for her humanity. His rival, Victorian, tells her she must see the patriarch of the vampire cult that attacked her to save her soul. In the vampire cult's fortress in Romania, Riley will face her worst fears-and the dark powers threatening to destroy her. And she'll have to do the one thing she's been determined not to do—put her trust in Eli.

I really wanted to enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed the first two in this series--but somehow along the way, the story lost its fizz and just can't stand up against the seductiveness of Afterlight and Everdark.  

Eventide starts off where Everdark ended:  Riley has been taken by the Russian strigoi vamp, Victorian, and she experiences haunting images/dreams. And worse, she is losing time--hours--where she doesn't remember what she has done, much less, how the hell she got there. 

Her doesn't-give-a-shit-attitude and her change of personality leaves her friends worried and wondering what the hell is going on. They all know Riley has the blood of two powerful strigoi vampires flowing through her veins, but this drastic change in her behavior makes them start to question whether Riley is strong enough to fight the darkness that threatens to consume her. 

Eli Dupre, her sexy vampire boyfriend, is determined to save her before its too late. And the only way to prevent Riley from completely changing, is to hand her over to the man who also wants Riley for himself--Victorian. 

This is the part of the book that I truly did enjoy. We get to see a softer side to Vic and my heart goes out to that emo-Russian vamp. He loves Riley. And knowing that Eli has her heart doesn't change that fact. He will always love her wait for her forever. Sniff....

Eventide reads so differently from the first books. The reader spends a lot of time wondering what the hell is going on. The missing chunks of time, the hallucinations, the strange dreams--all come from Riley's point of view and are very confusing. But I could almost handle that...almost. 

However, when Riley and Eli are in Russia, they met up with new characters who have their own stories to tell. We see these stories when Riley touches them and she is "flung" inside their heads--seeing what they have experienced--and the ride is all the more confusing to the reader. I felt a sensory overload coming on with the new names, plot twists, and none of it seemed to stick. 

It was a case of too much information in a little bit of time and left me skimming some of it. GASP! I loathe to skim, but frankly, I couldn't help it. There was nothing there to hold me to the story. And for me, that's just so sad. Especially since I know all this build-up will come into play with the next book in the series...

Overall, I was unimpressed with Eventide, but there were redeemable parts and I will continue to read this sometimes charming, sometimes dark, and always smexy series.