Endless Knight by Kresley Cole Review + Giveaway

Endless Knight by Kresley Cole
(The Arcana Chronicles, #2)
Release Date: October 1, 2013
Publisher: Simon & Schuster for Young Readers; 336 pages

In the second book of the Arcana Chronicles Evie has now fully come into her powers as the tarot Empress. And Jackson was there to see it all. In the aftermath of killing Arthur, the tarot Alchemist, Evie realizes that a war is brewing between the other teens that, following the apocalypse, have been given powers and its kill or be killed.

Things get even more complicated when Evie meets Death, the mysterious, sexy Endless Knight. Somehow the Empress and Death share a romantic history - one that Evie can't remember, but Death can't forget. She is drawn to the Endless Knight, but is in love with Jack. Determined to discover why she's been granted these powers, Evie struggles to accept her place in a prophecy that will either save the world, or completely destroy it.

I normally put the giveaway at the end of the post but because this is a review for the second book of a series and I'm giving away the first book, I don't want any of you to be accidentally spoiled, by anything. Unfortunately, it's nearly impossible to review a second, third or later book in a series without spoiling a previous book. I try to keep spoilers to a minimum but like I said, I don't want to ruin anything for any of you.

So, I'm clearing off my shelves and realize I still have my ARC of Poison Princess that I got last year (2012) at BEA. So one lucky reader is going to get the chance to fall in love with this series, like I have and then go out and buy Endless Knight to drool, like I have. Sound like a good plan? This contest is open internationally so anyone can enter!

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If you have NOT read Poison Princess, please read with caution. There are some spoilers that were unavoidable. Proceed with caution . . .

Does Death remind anyone of Spike on the cover? My friend mentioned that to me and I laughed because he totally does. I never watched Buffy but c'mon, everyone knows who Spike is (James Marsters). But tell me you can't see the same thing when you look at this cover! I absolutely love it!

That being said, let's get to the book. If I could give a book more than five stars, this book would get so many it's not even funny. I was told Endless Knight was better than Poison Princess and let me tell you, I was NOT lied to. This book absolutely blew me away in every sense of the word. I couldn't put this book down; while I was at work, I was sneaking a chapter here and a chapter there even though I knew I had work to do. I couldn't help it, I needed to know what happened next but then it just kept happening over and over again; the need to know more. It's been awhile since I've felt this strongly about a book or at least, it feels like it has. I've enjoyed a lot of the books I've read recently but nothing like this. Not even close.

Endless Knight picks up exactly, and I mean exactly where Poison Princess left off. No crash course refresher here. It's all about getting back to the nitty gritty and finding out more. Jack, oh Jack, he is so sexy and it broke my heart seeing him look at Evie the way he did. It broke her heart, too. She loves him, there's no denying that but there's also no denying the fact that she's changed, whether she wanted to or not. The end of Poison Princess just shows us how much.

I absolutely love Finn and Matthew; Finn is so much fun - I want to be friends with him. He would be so much fun to be around, he's such a jokester and always seems to have a good time. I mean, who doesn't want to surround themselves with someone like that? Matthew, though crazy is actually very humorous, as well though I think it's unintentional it still works. There's Selena, whose a tough pill to swallow but she really comes around in this book. The supporting characters really shine in this book, at least in my eyes. I don't want to say they steal the show because they don't, that job belongs to Death but we'll get to him momentarily. Lark is a new character we're introduced to and she's one that I've kind of been on an emotional roller coaster with. Do I hate her or do I like her - at times I really can't tell.

Death, oh Death I how I love thee though I really shouldn't. I'm sorry, Cajun, but my heart has been stolen by Death himself. Oh my holy hottness - there are no words to describe how I feel about Death. Seriously. I hated him because he's Death and he's trying to come between Evie and Jack and oh hell no, that's not happening. Not on my watch. Turns out, the battery must've died because that's exactly what happened. He squeezed his cute little, toned behind (I'm imagining he has a very nice ass indeed) right there in front of Jack, in my eyes. You know what's scarier though? Not only getting the reader (me) to fall for him but also Evie. Yes, you read this correctly. Welcome, ladies and gentleman, to one of the hottest love triangles in YA today. I kid you not. If you do not come out of this book with some crazy ass feelings about both guys then I need to ask if something is seriously wrong with you. Or should I be asking myself if I am the one with the problem because I actually think I like Death more than Jack. Shocking, I know but I do not lie.

You know a good book never lacks a healthy amount of action, betrayal, drama, tension, kissing-oh god was there ever some hot kissing-death, destruction and insane amount of feelings. The feels that I am feeling after finishing - I cannot stop thinking about this book and I am dying knowing I have to wait for the next book! Seriously, if you've read Poison Princess I want to know why you haven't gone out and gotten Endless Knight already? You need to get this book now and drop everything else you're reading. I loved it so much that I want to read it again. I won't because I have other books to read but the temptation is there. Maybe I'll re-read the last 25% of the book again! THAT ENDING-oh, that ending . . .

I owe a huge thank you to Brooke, Kresley's assistant and Simon & Schuster for sending me an early copy of Endless Knight to read and review honestly.