ending

[=^☺^=mskitty]

Is anyone as mad as I am about the very end????? How could she keep those children from Dorian?

[M.]

I'm completely mad. This book was a joke and the ending just added insult to injury. First there was no real confrontation between Eugenie and Kiyo. All their scenes together made me cringe. If you didn't know the story, you would believe Eugenie was mad at him because he stole her favorite pen, not because he tried to kill her and her babies. WTF? And he kept telling her that he was still going to kill her son and she doesn't freaking kill him? What kind of mother is she? Well, obviously a terrible one especially when you add that horrible ending.

[Leona]

It occurred to me last night that Eugenie fell into a very similar trap that Dorian must have at the beginning of Iron Crowned. He felt it was best for everyone if Eugenie had the Iron Crown (to end the war with less bloodshed). He assumed that she would not undertake the quest if he asked her, so he manipulated things such that she would feel more comfortable going after it. Eugenie's sort of doing the same thing. She's assuming that Dorian can't be reasoned with or that they won't be able to compromise on how to the handle the twins' upbringing. Hence keeping him in ignorance and the inevitable manipulations that she would have to undertake to keep him in ignorance because she feels she's doing what's best.

In my mind, she's already told Dorian about the twins and they're arranging some sort of hybrid Earth/Otherworld schedule for raising them. Hopefully, RM will give us some follow up on this one day.

[M.]

Leona wrote: "It occurred to me last night that Eugenie fell into a very similar trap that Dorian must have at the beginning of Iron Crowned. He felt it was best for everyone if Eugenie had the Iron Crown (to en..."

In my mind Dorian was right into tricking Eugenie about the Iron Crown. She is too much of a fool and miss goody two-shoes to understand that in order to be a good monarch you have to put aside your morals for the greater good. Didn't she abandon her babies in the hospital to help save the Otherworld? Well then.
What she did to Dorian was completely different and unacceptable. We are talking about his kids here. I would have accepted her decision if she had broken up with Dorian and stayed with her kids in Alabama. But she did much worst, she went back together with him and didn't tell him the truth. That doesn't make her human. That makes her a heartless, cold bitch. If I have to fill the dots here I'm picturing Dorian finding out about her deception, banishing her from his Kingdom, somehow taking his kids back to the Otherworld, and forbidding her from ever seeing her kids again. I would even make Jasmine turn against Eugenie and hook up with Dorian.

[[deleted user]]

The ending was horrid, so much wrong with it.

[C.D.]

Question: does Ms. Mead have kids? If she doesn't, that would explain the lack of maternal instinct in her prose.

No mother would have let a person like Kiyo anywhere close to her or her kids.

No mother would think her kids were 'safer' without her close.

No woman who loved her man would keep the truth of that magnitude from him.

All around, the ending to Shadow Heir was unbelievable, ragged, and unnecessary.

[Leona]

Michelle wrote: "Leona wrote: "It occurred to me last night that Eugenie fell into a very similar trap that Dorian must have at the beginning of Iron Crowned. He felt it was best for everyone if Eugenie had the Iro..."

I don't think that what Eugenie did and what Dorian did are all that different. Eugenie risked her life when she went after the Iron Crown, and her worries about the outcome of getting it were not unfounded. I admit that Eugenie's not my favorite heroine, but I don't think she's any worse off morally than Dorian (or any of the other characters). I don't agree with her decision, but she didn't come to that decision from the point of view of a "cold bitch." I think she and Dorian come from a very similar place in terms of their motivations. eta: They both took a very big decision upon themselves and decided to manipulate their partner to get a desired result.

[M.]

Leona wrote: "Michelle wrote: "Leona wrote: "It occurred to me last night that Eugenie fell into a very similar trap that Dorian must have at the beginning of Iron Crowned. He felt it was best for everyone if Eu..."

Eugenie's life was at risk regardless if she went after the Iron Crown or not. She refused to fight the other Queen, people thought she was an easy target. But because she acts like a bloody senseless teenager all the time, Dorian took matters into his own hands. He did give her plenty of chances to take a stand and she didn't. Eugenie was more pissed off with Dorian because the quest for the Iron Crown put her precious Kiyo at risk. Dorian knew she would survive.
You might disagree with me that she is a cold bitch, but I can't find any other name to call her after what she did to Dorian. Especially after he put aside all his power ambitions for her.
I guess will have to agree to disagree on this one.

[Amy]

Eugenie is a hypocrite and she knows it. I think with 3 kingdoms resources they could keep the twins safe..So ridiculous. This ending was so dumb.

Instead of a Blight, Mead could have brought the true heritage of Paigel to light sooner and she would have had plenty to write about. That would have gone with the theme of the series better anyway.

When she creates a new series I will not be reading it. I will continue bloodlines only because I am too invested in Adrian to stop.

[M.]

Amy wrote: "Eugenie is a hypocrite and she knows it. I think with 3 kingdoms resources they could keep the twins safe..So ridiculous. This ending was so dumb.

Instead of a Blight, Mead could have brought the..."

Hahaha, same here. I love Adrian too much to give him up. But I will probably be skipping a lot of parts.

[Amy]

Michelle wrote: "Hahaha, same here. I love Adrian too much to give him up. But I will probably be skipping a lot of parts. "

Yep, Pretty much everything that does not have to do with Adrian will probably be skipped, lol. It's just like Mead to create supporting characters that are more lovable and interesting than the main character. It's not that I don't like Sydney it's just she is really closed minded. I guess maybe it is to show personal growth later on but I thought that about Eugenie and that personal growth never happened.

[=^☺^=mskitty]

I'm glad to see that EVERYONE is pissed over the ending, looking at reviews RM has made even her strongest supporters mad....at this point I think she will have to come out with a novella that has Dorian with his children or she is going to loose a hugh following, I for one do not care to read anything by her again.
I don't know what the hell she was thinking!

[Kristen]

Yep... She should have told Dorian and killed the foxboy and his b*tch

[Leona]

Michelle wrote: "Leona wrote: "Michelle wrote: "Leona wrote: "It occurred to me last night that Eugenie fell into a very similar trap that Dorian must have at the beginning of Iron Crowned. He felt it was best for ..."


How was she not fighting the Queen? They were at war and having battles/skirmishes on a regular basis. Also, Dorian couldn't be absolutely sure that she would survive the quest. He had faith that she would succeed, but it's still a pretty big gamble. I admit to liking Dorian more as character than Eugenie, but I don't think she's any more "faulty" than he is in terms of ethics/morals.

[M.]

Leona wrote: "Michelle wrote: "Leona wrote: "Michelle wrote: "Leona wrote: "It occurred to me last night that Eugenie fell into a very similar trap that Dorian must have at the beginning of Iron Crowned. He felt..."

I didn't see Eugenie fighting the Queen per say, I saw her defending herself from the Queen's attacks because she really didn't have a choice, did she? When she was presented with the opportunity to end the war by assassinating the Queen, she said no. She kept hoping the Queen would come to her senses and the end the war. Naive much? Besides Eugenie knew deep in her heart that the Iron Crown was something more than Dorian had revealed. She just chose to pretend she believed him so she could keep her twisted morals intact and then later blame him. Dorian deceived the woman he loved to save thousands of people. What was her excuse for deceiving him?

[Leona]

Michelle wrote: "Leona wrote: "Michelle wrote: "Leona wrote: "Michelle wrote: "Leona wrote: "It occurred to me last night that Eugenie fell into a very similar trap that Dorian must have at the beginning of Iron Cr..."

"What was her excuse for deceiving him?"

As for the way she handled Katrice in Iron Crowned...she felt strongly that assasination would be too underhanded. Once she starts using those tactics then things really become a free for all. Of course, one could argue that procuring the Iron Crown makes her a target if other monarchs see that move as the first step in her conquering other kingdoms.
Regarding the kids, she felt it was that important to keep the twins safe and she felt her choice was the safest one as opposed to bringing them to the otherworld. She and Dorian both felt they were ultimately doing the right thing. I didn't agree with his deception and I don't agree with hers.

[M.]

Leona wrote: "Michelle wrote: "Leona wrote: "Michelle wrote: "Leona wrote: "Michelle wrote: "Leona wrote: "It occurred to me last night that Eugenie fell into a very similar trap that Dorian must have at the beg..."

I guess what pissed me off the most about this series is that if you are going to write a character with humans flaws and such, just make them consistent. It's not okay for Eugenie to keep her kids away from their father because she feels they will be safer there and NOT even try to kill the guy who attempted to kill her kids in the first place and kept vowing he was going to do it. It's just a bunch of BS! I think all mothers here agree that if someone ever threatens their kids there would be hell to pay. It's a natural instinct.

[Ferdy]

I completely agree with you Michelle.. it was a contradiction for her to do whatever it takes to 'protect' her kids even if in her twisted logic that means hiding the truth about the twins from their father Dorain but yet does nothing about Kiyo and Maiwenn when they have said they are hunting them and will kill them if found.. WTF?! She just lets Kiyo walk off.. what if Kiyo finds her son and kills him, does she not think of that?!

[Kaysa]

Hahaha! I agree, her 'logic' has some major flaws. The ending of this series is intolerable! If we can even call it an ending. There are so many possiblities...
I hope we can somehow persuade her to write another book in which she actually CONCLUDES the series! Kiyo and Maiwenn walking off is just unacceptable! But to add her staying away from her kids AND not telling Dorian their his is offensive.
I cannot believe that this is the ending to the series, my mind just doesn't want to accept any of this! :O

[Ferdy]

I thought you might be interested in this, someone posted this on the PURLS forum, it's from RM's twitter

Nicole Peeler wrote today @RichelleMead Yay! Glad it's sorted. Loved Shadow Heir, btw!

RM wrote: Thanks! The lack of closure is very controversial. (She added a smile)

NP wrote: Lack of closure is good. (She winks)

So I'm glad RM realises that her ending wasn't popular with many of her readers.. so maybe just maybe we'll get some closure in the future..I hope RM doesn't ignore that her readers want a satisfying ending.. because I would probably lose what little respect I have left for her as an author.

[SubterraneanCatalyst]

Ferdy wrote: "I thought you might be interested in this, someone posted this on the PURLS forum, it's from RM's twitter

Nicole Peeler wrote today @RichelleMead Yay! Glad it's sorted. Loved Shadow Heir, btw!

RM..."

I enjoy Nicole Peeler as well. Huh, now I'm paranoid that this is some kind of ninja writing technique.

I'm rather feeling kicked in the teeth..I'm feeling like I shouldn't have overheard Santa Claus talking to the Easter Bunny and wondering if I'm going to in fact get gifts come December or chocolate eggs come Easter WTFFF.
Am I going to get a good ending with Anyan Ms. Peeler?

Perhaps instead of purchasing up their writing like the loyal reader I am I'll sit back and see if dedicated fans rant. Yeah.

[Ferdy]

Good strategy SubterraneanCatalyst.. I think authors stick up for each other though. I can't imagine an author completely dissing another author's novels.. it's not very professional is it..

[SubterraneanCatalyst]

Ferdy wrote: "Good strategy SubterraneanCatalyst.. I think authors stick up for each other though. I can't imagine an author completely dissing another author's novels.. it's not very professional is it.."

LOL - I've seen it happen, I'm sure it does all of the time just like musicians troll each other.

The thing is I don't even like this whole reader vs writer dichotomy. I'm upset about this ending but to read the above, just really bothers me.
I've read all of Nicole Peelers books but I honestly do not like to see her display such joy in mysterious endings.

I'm not a literature expert, I know this. But just like with music IMO, I feel like the ending has to nail it. If you can't manage an ending it's a major issue. As a reader I feel like if I can't walk away somewhat satisfied with an ending - it's upsetting if I've invested emotionally in a series.

I'm the kind of reader that laughs, cries, and shouts with outrage while I'm reading lol- I get deeply involved when I'm reading if the author can get me hooked.

I feel like an author and I can do something beautiful together! Your imagination plus mine can equal an epic time..but alas.

[Ferdy]

That was wonderfully put SubterraneanCatalyst.. I sometimes feel foolish when I get so emotional about books because I know it's 'only fiction' as everyone keeps reminding me but when I'm reading I feel like I'm living through it so it's only normal to be affected by the story.. my family and most of my friends think I'm weird.. but like you, I can't help it!!

[M.]

Richelle's comment on Twitter just made me even more pissed off and just shows she doesn't give a damn about her readers.
There are books that require an unhappy ending or disturbing ending (aka, the way Hunger Games series ended. I was very disturbed but I didn't see any other way for it to end. It was realistic). What Richelle did was just mean and unnecessary. If she thought that by writing that controversial ending would help her sell more books, she was sorely mistaken.

[=^☺^=mskitty]

Well she obviously knows all of her fans are pissed and she doesn't care....she is OFF my list, not reading anything by her again.

[C.D.]

RM is off my favorite author list also. And up until now, I read anything she cared to write. Including a used tissue. So believe me, it took a lot for me to change.

In Shadow Kiss,(Oh, how odd. Same author, similiar title. Lazy much?) she wrote one of the best endings ever. It grips me even now.

But the ending to VA and the succubus series was...I don't know, like expecting a cool drink of water but getting to lick a sweaty palm instead?

I was okay with the Storm Born series until RM twisted the story. Give me conflict and unresolved endings but don't leave me outraged.

[Kaysa]

She's a very good writer tbh. Her story plots are very interesting and often get me hooked. I can't say whether i'll read future books by her because the ending to Eugenie Markham's story was pretty horrible.
I hope she writes one more more book/a spin-off series (preferably about the twins).
I so agree with you Michelle, the ending to 'The Hunger Games' was pretty disturbing but very convenient. I can say the same for 'The Black Magician Trilogy'. The ending was very sad and emotional but seemed quite fitting. It kind of matched the theme as it seemed to be more of a 'legendary' book. This book's ending was totally out of it. It was just out of place and semed like Richelle couldn't be asked finishing it off. :P