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Cheat the Grave (Signs of the Zodiac, #5)

Vicki Pettersson

Finish date: May 25, 2010

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What Members Thought

Dec 28, 2009 The Flooze rated it it was ok

Shelves: owned, vanquished_2011, urban-fantasy-paranormal, glutton_for_punishment

**2.5**

Don’t you hate it when you’ve decided to drop a series…and then the author flings such crazy plot twists at you that you’re forced to say, “Ohhh, fine! I’ll read one more.”

::grumblegrumble::

That’s what Pettersson keeps doing to me.

In a welcome departure from the typical paranormal, Signs of the Zodiac is based on astrology and Tibetan myth. That’s point one in its favor. Point two is that it revolves around a group of superhero-type characters whose powers are reliant upon human belief. ...more

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Apr 15, 2010 Nairabell rated it it was amazing

Shelves: urban-fantasy, 5-star

Joanna Archer has sacrificed her powers to save the life of a child and embraced her newfound mortality. Banished from her troop of zodiac warriors, she finds herself surrounded by enemies with only her alias of Olivia Archer to fall back on. But the prophecies that surround Joanna haven't disappeared with her powers, and she finds herself pursued by an insane and unstoppable killer in a world where black and white have blended into shades of grey. Only those she once saw as foes may be able to Joanna Archer has sacrificed her powers to save the life of a child and embraced her newfound mortality. Banished from her troop of zodiac warriors, she finds herself surrounded by enemies with only her alias of Olivia Archer to fall back on. But the prophecies that surround Joanna haven't disappeared with her powers, and she finds herself pursued by an insane and unstoppable killer in a world where black and white have blended into shades of grey. Only those she once saw as foes may be able to help her, but Joanna will have to change her worldview entirely to be able to accept their aid.

Well after book four (City of Souls) I honestly didn't know where Joanna's story could go next. She completely sacrificed all her powers and ended up not only as a regular mortal human, but a regular mortal human stuck in the body of her dead sister. I said in my review of City of Souls that the series could have easily ended there, but having read this I'm so glad it didn't. This book has redefined the series, giving it new life and a massively massive twist at the end of the book which shocked the heck out of me (I really did NOT see that one coming, but with hindsight it actually makes a lot of sense). It has kept the fast pace and pretty constant action of the previous books which is great, although it makes the book hard to put down.

There's quite a few new characters in this book, although the old zodiac troop appear occasionally and Suzanne and Cher have larger roles to make up for their absence. Thankfully Joanna doesn't have a breakdown over Hunter's choice to go after his wife in Midheaven in the last book, and his reasons for doing so become very clear. The new characters, especially Carlos and Io are really well developed, and having Mackie (yep - the one from Midheaven) as the main bad guy was a great choice as he was already known to the reader in a book that covers a lot of new ground.

There are some storylines still to be continued - like Hunter's and Zoe (Joanna's mother), not to mention what Joanna herself will do next or what will happen with the last cliffhanger that appears in the last few pages. Book 6 (The Neon Graveyard) is out at the end of next May, and I personally can't wait.

Plot: 10/10
Characters: 10/10
Ending: 10/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Cover: 9/10

Overall: 49/50 ...more

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Jun 02, 2010 Ebby Wilhelm rated it really liked it

Shelves: paranormal

Was very surprised that this series was being continued. At this point, I do like what is happening however I'm very curious to see where it will end....

HOLY MOTHER OF MOSES!!!! Are you kidding me?!?!? I did not see that coming at all. I'm not even going to hint about what happens, but all I can say is that what happens, I truly never saw coming. That was a good book. Now I'm seriously hoping that there will be more and things will come full circle with the generations. Oh my.. I really enjoyed ...more

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