The Syndicater

omg this series was so good

didnt love some of the plot points but was a satisfying end to the series

Disclaimer: I understand that the author had one of the hardest tasks of not just wrapping this series up but also combining multiple povs together. Nevertheless I am still disappointed and underwhelmed. I’ve been waiting for this book for two years and I am allowed to be disappointed as a reader. I genuinely hate that I didn’t love this book. also incoming spoilers

It's crazy how the mighty has fallen and I’m not talking about the syndicate

The world the author has depicted for the past five books has been so intricate and well written so this mess of a book, with multiple writing errors in the final product, felt like a slap in the face. this book felt so rushed, scattered, and unorganized SO MANY INCONSISTENCIES AND PLOT HOLES

Every sentence felt like a RUN-ON PANCAKE. honestly at times, the run on sentences confused me to the point that it brought me out of the reading experience. also the writing feels like the author adding a bunch of words to meet a word count

One of the main problems with this book is that it was mainly TELLING me what is happening instead of SHOWING me. It also speaks to the lack of structure this book had because at the end of the book, I was left with so many questions instead of feeling satisfied.

Another HUGE problem for me was that the characters felt different. I still love the cute little moments with the dark verse core six especially with xander! However, there was so many moments that felt so OUT OF CHARACTER that frustrated me. For instance, Tristan NEVER noticing Morana’s injured arm the WHOLE BOOK?? WDYMM
also. luna. her entire character arc in the previous book was her trying to rediscover herself. I remember loving her character and her strength in the Annihilator. I was excited to see the person she has become and what her favorite hobbies are (bc that was one of her main plot lines in the last book) - anyways come to my surprise, all she talks about is dainn and fucking him like girl I’m so happy you’re getting dicked down but I don’t care which rooms you fucked in like how’s your cooking? Is your best dish still pasta? How was painting like WTF also she doesn’t want to see her son anymore like wdym that was her main reason for living. I hate that Lyla’s identity is mainly about Dainn like I DONT CARE ABOUT THE MAN Anyways, I felt like luna as a character was diminished in this book.

Speaking of Dainn. Oh he was the star of the show in this one. if I took a shot for how many times he was described as hot, I’d black out. Like we get it he’s hot!!! Enough with the dainn propaganda. I understand why dainn was the main focus at times but you can clearly tell the author had a favorite which is annoying because this book is supposed to be about ALL THE CHARACTERS. yet somehow they ended up being side characters. ALSO oh there was a part in the book where luna was worried she wasn’t going to live up to the luna that tristan had envision her to be. dainn telling luna/lyla that she doesn’t need a name and names don’t matter because she’s HIS??? THIS FRUSTRATED ME. The whole “identity doesn’t matter because you’re mine” is giving she’s his property. This negates her ENTIRE IDENTITY! This is NOT ROMANTIC
I felt like this entire series was not just about the dv family trying to find Luna but also Luna trying to find herself. Then, this whole turn around where its become all about dainn DISAPPOINTED ME AND PISSED ME OFF

Honestly the disservice to the female characters in this one, especially Morana!! ugh she deserved better!!!

The big reveals that me as a reader have been anticipating for two years and for five books - HUGE LET DOWN. The execution felt so lackluster. For example, when Morona finds out about the Shadowman who is this mysterious entity in only a couple sentences. Where’s the buildup. WHERES THE DRAMA. Also the reunion of Tristan and Luna. There would be mentions of them bonding but WE DON’T SEE IT like love the taste of nothing. OMG luna and xander. the sole reason luna wanted to keep living despite all the horrors she was going through was her son. And this book we barely get one conversation between the two. Like excuse me. HE WAS YOUR REASON YOU WANTED TO KEEP LIVING SO YOU CAN BE REUNITED WITH HIM AGAIN "He's the reason his mother didn't give up on her life for many years" wdym you're okay with getting weekends with him

Also the anticipated takedown of the Syndicate felt so underwhelming especially when the author has been building up the syndicate to be this all-mighty organization especially in the beginning where it was heavily emphasized how insurmountable the Syndicate is - "The more they discovered about The Syndicate, the more he realized that it was a lot more complex than they'd ever thought, like the underground root network of a giant tree, spread far and wide and deep under the surface, hidden from the world, mingled so tightly that uprooting the entire system seemed impossible, the roots strong enough and symbiotic enough that even if someone cut the tree down, a new one would grow in its place over time." - then it gets taken down so quickly BY ONE MAN DAINN in ONE CHAPTER. Idk I thought this was going to be a team effort like giving avengers endgame with everyone joining hands but half the group was gone doing side quests also that clusterfuck of a takedown didn't even feel like a resolve. It was like that happened and then we moved on to the next scene AND I STILL HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS

I understand the author had this whole storyline of the characters and everything in her head as well as reasons for why she write this book the way it is. However the author has to realized that this story isn't hers anymore. I'm not saying that authors always have to cater to their readers but I wish she had the readers in mind when she wrote this. Or at least wrote the book in a way where we can better understand her perspective about the theme and message of the book.

I do still love the couples and the dv family but my overwhelming disappointment and confusion by this disaster of a book just overshadowed everything else.