The Savage Vengeance

by Tamara Rose Blodgett

[Angie]

I'm quite disappointed in The Savage Vengeance. After the ending of the previous book, I was expecting excitement and for Clara to step up in her role as queen to squash the attacking fragment! Well, that's not what happened. At least not until the very end, when thing finally got good. For the most part, I was bored and frustrated with this installment since it also suffered from the repetition and unbelievability that started to show in The Savage Blood.

The Savage Vengeance opens up with Clara and her entourage heading to the Kentucky sphere in hopes of an alliance, despite the lack of joining of the kingdoms. Their the next sphere on the fragment's list, and Clara hopes to help since she's the only monarch with an alliance with those from Outside. Well, King Otto has other plans, such as marrying Clara off to his nephew, Caesar. Of course, he's a total creep and the cause for all of the problems with this book.

Clara is once again, somehow kidnapped. She's also punched in the face and knocked unconscious again. She's doubly kidnapped by the fragment. Again. How is this all happening for like the tenth time?! Can't something else happen? Plus, I couldn't see any way for Caesar to have even gotten to her in the first place. The Band never leaves her alone, but somehow he got into her room, and got her back out even with two of them at the door and Matthew keeping an ear out. I don't believe that for a second! Then of course everyone has to go save her, battle the fragment, and then return to the sphere where bad things were happening in her absence. Yawn.

The only thing I really liked about The Savage Vengeance was the crossover between the author's Death series. The kids from that series travel to Clara's time and help her fight the fragment and take back her sphere. They also have all of the information on what the heck is going on genetically in this world, so some answers are provided. It also nice to get some zombie action! Although Caleb does bring back some folks who he can't control since they weren't exactly of sound mind in life...

In the end, I sadly didn't like The Savage Vengeance too much. It was too similar to the previous books, but with more characters thrown in. Aside from wondering how the heck the Band let Caesar get to Clara in the first place, I also couldn't help but be distracted by the fragment's motives, or lack thereof. They're criminals from our world, as we already learned, but why do they spend all of their time kidnapping and raping women? There's no reason for that, since I don't believe only depraved rapists were sent to this world. It just makes me not care about them anymore as villains, since they're just kind of there being evil for no reason.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.