A Doozy

Hello there! Happy Day-Before-Friday, and all that. :-) So, today I pulled a review for the fourth book in Kristen Britain's Green Rider fantasy series, which I have a long-time love affair with. I'm talking full-blown, passionate romance here! I read the first book while in middle school and have kept pace with the series through high school, between exams in college, and this year the fifth book in the series is due to be released. Wait!, you say? If you do the little math exercise there you may notice that I've been reading a grand total of four books for more than 15 years ... how long does it take this author to write books, exactly? The answer: a long time. In the agonizing tradition of George R. R. Martin, Kristen Britain tends to not release a new book very often. For her devoted fans (ahem!) this is a devastatingly confounding habit of hers that she just won't break. While some -- well, many -- members of the Green Rider fandom spend their time shaking their fists and screaming for the next release, I've decided it's just not worth the frustration. The books are good, and if it takes five years for Kristen to write one, then so be it. I wouldn't want her to spiff things up if it would mean her quality level would tank. Now that we're getting close to Release Day, though, I'm working up a hype! Here's a little something to get your excitement meter revved:

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Okay, so Kristen Britain is getting a lot of grief over a certain scene in "Blackveil" that has the K/Z Fandom outraged (no spoilers, I promise!). Let's admit it, it's a doozy whether or not you're rooting for Karigan! Some are enraged, some disgusted, some pleased, some confused ... that's the point! A good author will throw curve balls at her readers in order to generate a reaction - any reaction. Whether it's positive or negative, it tends to have the effect of baiting the audience into sticking around for the next book. It also gives us a romance that isn't just sugar and sunshine (a strong literary relationship needs some speed bumps to shake things up and keep things interesting). P.S. I'm a K/Z Fan too, so stick with me here.

As for the length of time we have to wait in between books: yes, I agree that it is AGONIZING!! It won't stop me from continuing to buy the books or suggesting them to friends, though. So long as Kristen comes up with another great read, I think it's worth the wait.

Finally, the CLIFFHANGER. Yes, like that certain scene I mentioned already its a doozy (it deserves to be referred to in capital letters). In proper die-hard, can't-put-it-down fan fashion I promptly screeched at the top of my lungs when I found that there were no more pages after that last sentence. It killed me. I wanted to rip the book to shreds and track down Kristen so that I could kick her. I cried ... but what an ending, ladies and gentlemen! Let's face it, "Blackveil" is a middle-of-the-series book. It isn't going to let us off the hook or feel satisfied. Someday (hopefully) Kristen will publish the last book in the Green Rider series and all those fascinating, irritating, nail-biting plot lines will converge and we will be able to let out a collective (and long-held) sigh of relief.

Stick with it, everyone! If the future books are comparable in quality to what we've gotten out of her so far, Kristen will make it worth it.

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  KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR MIRROR SIGHT, BOOK #5 IN THE GREEN RIDER SERIES,

AVAILABLE MAY 6th, 2014!