Charmfall: A Novel of The Dark Elite (Dark Elite, #3)

by Chloe Neill

Protecting Chicago from the dark side of life can be an exhausting job, especially when you're in high school. So when the girls of St. Sophia's start gearing up for Sneak, their fall formal, Lily decides to take a break from fighting to get ready for the event. But when a Reaper unexpectedly crashes the party prep and Lily's firespell fails, she realizes that she has a much bigger problem than a full social calendar...

• ISBN10: 0451230809
• ISBN13: 9780451230805
• Publish Date: 3 January 2012 (first published 1 January 2012)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Berkley
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 288
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780451230805

Reviews

[Angie]

Charmfall is, in a word, anticlimactic. Being the final book in the trilogy I was expecting more action and plenty of answers. Well, there's none of that. It is a super duper quick read just like the previous two books, but not much happens. Once again, something strange is happening in the magical community of Chicago and Lily and the rest of her enclave are trying to solve it. This time, their powers are gone. Luckily, their enemies' magic has also disappeared. But how and why?

I did enjoy Charmfall while I was reading. I liked learning more about magic and the opposing sides' reasons for wanting more or giving it up. The plot was also fast paced, so it wasn't until it was over that I realized that there wasn't a whole lot of substance there. It was interesting, since magic up and disappearing is good stuff, but other than that there's planning a school dance and playing supernatural matchmaker. Neither of which were all that engaging.

The biggest disappointment was that Lily questioning her parents' real motives for sending her to St. Sophia's and what their real careers are was totally dropped. This was a major focus of the first two books, but I don't think Lily seriously thought about it once in Charmfall. Why are they studying DNA? What kind of DNA? Supernatural DNA? Why are they really in Germany? What is their connection to SRF? Do they know Lily is an Adept? Were they Adept? How does the headmistress fit into this? Nothing is answered! It's as if this plot thread never existed at all.

Charmfall is a weak ending to a not-so great series. I enjoyed the first book, but it all goes downhill from there. At first I thought maybe this wasn't the finale, but upon further research, it is. I feel like this series was a wasted opportunity. It had a great foundation: likeable characters, interesting mythology, and engaging mysteries. Unfortunately, nothing comes from it.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.