The cliff hanger is the book before this one. It could be called just a set up for the next book but it's heinous and abrupt and I didn't appreciate it. So, I'm going to wait until the series is finished to read any more. Or at the very least wait until others tell me if the next one has a tight, complete, satisfying ending.

is it really a cliffhanger? i hate them but i was considering starting this series. do the books wrap up with HEA's each time or do they all end with cliffhangers? i'd appreciate the input :)

Sorry to take so long to respond. I didn't get notified you commented. All the books until #9 have satisfying ending with HEAs, as is typical of Paranormal Romance. In fact they're a bit on the formulaic side although well done. The last few started ending on cliffhanger type setups for the next book and have become progressively worse, with book #9 being downright insulting. I dislike cliff hangers intensely, but intentionally manipulative marketing devices stuck on as cliff hangers at the end get your series tabled until it's over and I can get it for free from some knock off shelf somewhere, if I'm not too busy with good books to bother.

ya i'm on the same page as you... i actually did read the whole series since i last posted here but as they progressed, i got that i-have-to-be-able-to-read-it-through-to-te-end feeling more and more. i think i too will shelve until complete and then just buy them all at once. i get disconnected from the characters reading just one per year and prefer immersing my self in a story by reading many books at once

I also prefer having a series to read back to back. Even so, for a good series I'm willing to wait and don't even mind waiting longer than a year if it's good. However, I deeply resent cliff hangers. They feel like marketing manipulations to me, and that always calls an author's integrity and their confidence in their story into question for me. As if even they don't believe the story can stand on it's own well enough to keep a reader engaged for the duration. I don't mind long arcs, but books with long arcs still have satisfying conclusions in each book (even if the conclusion wasn't what we wanted to see). I don't even mind cliff hangers if I am given the option to opt out in advance. Marking a cover, or a synopsis with a clear notice that I won't be getting the entire story in one book is respectful. Letting me buy a book only to get to the end to discover that I only got part of what I paid for pisses me off and makes me think of piracy.