Review: Strange and Ever After by Susan Dennard

Title: Strange and Ever After

Author: Susan Dennard

Series: Something Strange and Deadly #3

Genre: YA/Steampunk/Zombies

Publisher: HarperTeen

Publication Date: July 22nd, 2014

Edition: Kindle Edition, 405 pages

Source: Library

Purchase: Amazon US | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | BAM

Synopsis:

  With supernatural forces, epic romance, and a mysterious Egyptian city, Eleanor and her team are set for an adventure they will never forget.

  It has been a tumultuous time for Eleanor Fitt since life as she knew it in Philadelphia came abruptly to an end. Although the Spirit-Hunters Joseph, Jie, and Daniel have helped her survive, Eleanor has lost just about everything.

  And now, Jie is missing taken by the evil necromancer Marcus. Eleanor is determined not only to get her back but to finally end this nightmare. To do so, she must navigate the hot desert streets of nineteenth-century Egypt amid the rising Dead, her unresolved feelings for Daniel, and her volatile relationships with Joseph and Oliver, her demon. And it won't be easy. Because Allison, her friend from Philadelphia, has tagged along, becoming strangely entangled in Eleanor's mission.

  It will take all of Eleanor's powers of black magic, and all of Daniel's and Joseph's trust, to succeed. But there will be a price.

Review:

So, I am a bit on the fence about this book. It has the same high energy of the previous books, but Eleanor is a much less likable character. She was incredibly selfish in this book, she alienated everyone and I didn't like it.

She trusted the wrong people at every turn. The people around her, the ones she should have been trusting, were telling her not to trust the other people. But she didn't listen and it caught up to her and other people suffered because of it. 

I loved the setting though. The team going to Egypt was pretty cool. It's kind of cliche now, but in 2013 it wasn't yet. It felt that there was a little too much waffling around while they tried to get what they needed done. But the last third of the book had a lot of action. 

Jie and Joseph developing a reluctant trust, or tolerance for Oliver was some nice character development. But Daniel being just jealous was kind of hypocritical. I understand why he initially pushed Eleanor away, but then pretend that he doesn't care for her the way she wanted him to and the way she cared for him, and then get upset when he thinks she has moved on felt ridiculous. I mean, I know they're only 17-18 years old... but this book is set in a time when people grew up faster because they had to. 

I almost want a spin-off novella or something about the Sheridan Institute or something. That'd be fun to read. 

But yeah, I didn't like this book as much because I didn't really care for how Eleanor's character progressed, and how it took a death for her to finally listen to reason.