The Eternity Key (Into the Dark)

by Bree DeSpain

[KitsuneBae]

The Eternity Key was a disappointment compared to its predecessor, Into The Dark, which actually managed to be one of my best reads in 2013. I was surprised that The Eternity Key bored me to no end. Objectively, it’s not a bad book. But then, how do you define a book that spent most of its time searching nonsensically for the Key of Hades and the compass? Add the fact that I had to wade through a lot of unnecessary internal monologue of our main characters that it was exhausting. And then, out of the blue, Tobin, one of the side characters that I really didn’t care about in the first book got his own POV which did not improve my mood and only exacerbated my annoyance.

By the lords of the Underrealm, what happened to Haden? As far as I can remember in Into the Dark (Book 1), I was ready to sacrifice a couple of my stuffed bears to get the guy. He was just so funny and adorable that I can’t help but root for him. In this book, however, I felt like I was reading about another Haden Lord. Might have been his twin or his Jekyll persona. The thing is, the Haden Lord in Eternity Key is subdued, timid, angsty, and plain boring. Nothing like the Haden in the first book. Remind me again who this guy is.

At least, Daphne Raines was consistent but her internal monologue about Haden, her father, and the future ahead of her became too excessive for my taste. I’m just glad that she stayed focused on her goals and never fell prey to the clichéd entrapments of love against all odds.

Anyway, aside from the slow-placed plot, what I really disliked about the Eternity Key is that the increase in the number of major characters was done haphazardly. Why should I care for Lexie or Tobin or Garrick or Dax? Sure, they’ve been introduced in the first book but the problem is that they didn’t manage to grab my attention. And The Eternity Key just started like they were all friends who have survived an apocalypse because suddenly, they’ve become so close. And I couldn’t see any reason why Tobin was given his own POV when all he ever thinks about is his lost sister, Sarah, who didn’t even have an important part in the story. She could have just died and no one would even shed a tear. Why? Why? Why?

Regardless of my complaints about The Eternity Key, I still felt that it deserves the 3 star rating. The twist at the ending completely blindsided me. And I hope that Despain will use such set up to make the third book a worthwhile read. Garrick, congratulations. Haden, your hands will be full but I hope you will recover your humor.