Diana Rowland's Kara Gillian series

[Gin]

I've read this series, but I haven't read yet

[Dawn, Desperately seeking new worlds]

Yep I am all caught up, what shall we speculate about?? There are so many things!

[Sandra, Need more time to Read!!]

I've read the 1st 2, just about to read #3. Speculate away Amy :D

[Gin]

How far do I need to have read to look at the spoiler?

[Midu]

Gin!!!

[Kimberly]

Amy wrote: "Anyone out there who reads this series? I NEED someone to speculate with! It's driving me bananas!"

I read the first one in November 2010 so I guess I better start the rest soon!

[Arushi]

@Amy - Totally know how you feel!

I can't sort my answer out by Books so.. I'd suggest not looking if you're not caught up. (view spoiler)[ I think Rhyzkahl cares for her, and she should stick with him. After all, he tries his best to be honest with her. Plus he's sort of trying to be more human for her? Like cutting his hair and dressing in jeans and stuff in the last book?

Ryan seems to care for her too. Almost love her. I think he's that Demon Lord (forgot the name), the one who they were supposed to summon but messed up and Got Rhyzkahl instead, and Kara's Grandmom got killed.

I was so frustrated with all the questions left at the end of the last book. She's kidnapped, and there, and she's been having the flashbacks, but then again, when did she ever live there?
Why do you ask "oath breaker killed her"? Where does it say that? Coz I should do some re reading if I missed something so important.

Maybe she was the one that Ryan destroyed, and Rhyzkahl cared for, but then how is she still alive?
If it turns into a past life previous life thing.. that'd be sorta weird to be honest. Plus Rhyzkahl has never let on that he knew Kara previously in any capacity. (hide spoiler)]

[Gin]

book 1 (view spoiler)[I like him, but I have a tendency to like the scary men that I shouldn't (hide spoiler)]
book 2 (view spoiler)[friend (hide spoiler)]
book 3 (view spoiler)[Don't have a clue, but it's been a while so I don't remember my speculations (hide spoiler)]
Now I need to read the 4th book. All this talk...I forgot how much I enoyed this series.

[Arushi]

Okay...

I know what you mean abt Ryan being insensitive. (view spoiler)[ I guess it shows that he may not remember but he's still a demon lord. With Rhyzkahl it's expected, and he tried to treat Kara different, but Ryan doesn't quite grasp the whole thing, and screws up. But I am not defending him. He should know better by now.

Also thats an interesting theory. If what happened all those years ago was on purpose, that would change a lot of things. Then again, maybe not. It would simply explain a lot of things. (hide spoiler)]

That Cop Knight? You know the one who works with them who's NOT from the city and also sorta becomes a part of the unit?
(view spoiler)[ He's the one who says this:
“Sometimes it’s tough to tell who the bad
guys are,” he said, voice oddly rich. “Evil is often a matter of perception.”
Gooseflesh crawled over my skin as I watched him. I’d used those exact words
before to describe the demonkind. He continued to gaze out over the water, but his
eyes were completely unfocused. “Even the most powerful get screwed,” he
continued. “The world was at stake, and he had to make a terrible choice.” Knight
was only a few feet away from me but there was something about his voice that
made me feel that I’d be able to hear him speaking to me even if I was on the other
side of the lake.
“Sometimes the punishment fits the crime far too well,”

Ryan stabbing her is a distinct possibility, especially if she was with Rhyzkahl. He does mention 'Ryan' destroying 'something' of his, just because he cared for it. (hide spoiler)]

Thanks for the spoilers :) But I don't recognize the guy you mention in the third one. Who's he? Wanna elaborate, please?

[Arushi]

Amy wrote: I'm back to rooting for Ryzhkahl. Gahh!! Love them both! Worst of all, after reading the end of book 4, I have a feeling there may be another contender.

I know what you mean.. but I have a problem with Kara's self esteem issues. They got old.
I mean she's a successful cop, an excellent demon summoner, and overall doing pretty good in everything except her love life, but the way she acts sometimes, you'd think she was a kicked puppy.

She has some excellent qualities, but she really annoys me sometimes.

[Gin]

@Amy you sound like you really like the whole love triangle thing. Another series with a hard to choose love triangle is
I still don't know who I like better

[Arushi]

gin wrote: "@Amy you sound like you really like the whole love triangle thing. Another series with a hard to choose love triangle is
I still don't know who I like better"

Yeah, excellent recommendation Gin :) I love that series !! And yep, I have no clue who I like better either...

[Sandra, Need more time to Read!!]

Glad I've got #3 to read this month, all very intriguing comments :D

[Sandra, Need more time to Read!!]

Or, it could be, you know, just that he's a guy. LOL

[Dawn, Desperately seeking new worlds]

book 4 (view spoiler)[Ryan is a weird character and I am not sure we know why he is an oath breaker except to say that I think he was the one who was summoned by the grandmother all those years ago. I also really like Lord Rhyzkahl, I think he has true feelings for her...does anyone know why she was in the demon world?? I also like Zach and I liked how they told Jill that he is Ryan's babysitter (hide spoiler)]

[Gin]

I might have to reread this series before the 4th book. I don't remember half this stuff.

[Madn]

Amy wrote: "Dawn wrote: "book 4 [spoilers removed]"

this is the quote Arushi dug up, about why Ryan became the Oathbreaker“The world was at stake, and he had to make a terrible choice.”

I agree that Rhyzka..."



I'm so glad I found people who want to speculate about the Kara Gillian series, too! I just had to join Goodreads so I could be part of the conversation!

I don't know how to hide spoilers in a post yet, so I'll just warn everyone now that there will be plenty of SPOILERS ahead.

[REGARDING RYAN]
I don't think Ryan is either good or bad. I think even when we find out what he did to be kicked out of the demon realm, we'll still have ambiguous feelings about him. Eilahn said that "enemies" was too strong of a word to describe Ryan and Rhyzkahl. They have the same goal, but a different approach. Diana Rowland said in an interview that all the demon lords are up to something. Personally, I think Ryan and Rhyzkahl had some sort of alliance to possibly take over the human realm or something. I want to say taking over the human realm is the end game, but it might be more complicated than that. But I definitely think they were in cahoots at some point. I'm not sure what oath he broke, but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the idea of consent. Diana Rowland said in the same interview that the scene in the last book where Kara says she doesn't want to sex up Rhyzkahl that night (boo!) and he respects her wishes was very important. She said that scene revealed a trust between Rhyzkahl and Kara and that the idea of consent plays into a bigger part of the story. It leads me to think that whatever oath Ryan broke had to do with consent because that probably is a big part of the demon code of honor.

[REGARDING RHYZKAHL]
As much as I love Rhyzkahl (I've been Team Rhyzkahl since the beginning), I still find him shady as hell. I'm trying not to romanticize his character because the author said that she considered the series to be more Urban Fantasy than Urban Romance. To answer the question of whether or not he would place Kara above his ambitions...I have to reluctantly say no. Whatever he's up to, he's been at it for a long time. I don't think he's going to give it up so lightly. I think he's as honest with Kara as he possible can, but he's still using her to further his motives. Even though she's somewhat of a pawn, I think he feels obligated to treat her fairly. I'm sure he's fond of her. He's proud of her when she improves her summoning ability like a mentor. But I think it's a stretch (for now) to say that he loves her. Someone mentioned him changing his appearance to please her, but I think it was more of a strategic move. He's adapting himself to the modern human realm so he's not so conspicuously different (to infiltrate and take it over?). The reason he previously dressed like he was from the Middle Ages is not because that's how they dress in the demon realm (like Kara thought), but because that's probably the last time he was in the human realm for a long period. He told Kara in the first book that it's been a couple of centuries (besides the messed up summoning with her grandmother) since he's been in the human realm. The other demon lord we saw at the end of the last book was dressed in Armani! I think the demon lords adapt to whatever period of human culture they were last exposed to. On a side note, I think Kara (whatever she is) was originally from the Middle Ages, too. The dresses she talks about in her demon realm dreams seem very Middle Agey. So does that mean their working relationship dates back that far? Was she a summoner for him back then, too?

[REGARDING KARA]
I saw this coming since the first book. Diana Rowland has been planting hints that we should've have been asking what Kara was, too. Her demon realm dreams with Rhyzkahl seem to imply that she's familiar with the place (she talks about having a feeling that one of the dresses she wore in the dreams was a favorite of hers). I think she knew Ryan and Rhyzkahl in that realm, but I don't know in what capacity. I definitely think she was human then as she is now. And I do think Ryan killed her somehow for whatever reason. Someone above mentioned that she remembered Ryan stabbing her. And in the last book when she's exploring the abandoned fortress with the broken statue (of her?), she sees someone in the doorway and feels something hard strike her chest before she wakes up. She seems to keep remembering her death in that realm. But this creates more questions for me. This seems to help the case that she was the something "special" that Ryan destroyed as someone mentioned above, but if that's true why is Rhyzkahl aloof with her at the very beginning as though it's the first time they've met?



I've gone on for way too long! I'm going to cut myself off now before I stop making sense. Let me know what you guys think about my theories!

[Arushi]

@Madn - You can know how to use spoiler tags by clicking on the (some html is ok) above the reply text box.

Thanks for giving the info from the author, and for ur theories. They're interesting and fairly good.
I agree with you on almost everything. Its all highly possible.

Maybe Rhyzkahl was aloof with Kara the first time he met her was coz even tho she looked the same, he thought it was a trick and it took him a minute to realize otherwise? He did let her live and he did take a LOT of interest in her.

Or maybe.. he always knew but was initially just very surprised? After all its also possible that Kara may not have been able to read his expressions correctly or he could just hide them really well?

Also, its possible that a LOT of years may have passed and so it took him a few moments to recognize her?

Since I agree with you on everything else (more or less) I'm gonna leave it alone for now.

[Sandra, Need more time to Read!!]

Starting #3 today. Yay!

So not reading Madn's thoughts till I'm up to date. LOL

[Madn]

@Arushi
Thanks for the spoiler tag tip. I appreciate it!

You're probably right about Rhyzkahl. I should give him more credit. (view spoiler)[I do think he's sending her dreams that reveal more about her past (the dream where she was in her favorite dress, the dream about the abandoned fortress). He does seem desperate for her to figure out who she really is. So he does seem to be emotionally invested in her in some way. Now that I think about it...do you think he avoids calling her Kara (it shocks her when he uses it in the last book)because that's not what he originally knew her as and it bothers him to call her that? (hide spoiler)]

@Sandra
Yeah. Lol. I got carried away because I've been desperate to discuss it with someone. Hurry up and finish so you can join in!

[Arushi]

@Madn - Possible. Its all very possible.

(view spoiler)[There are a lot of things that Rhyzkahl can't tell her even if he wants to. Like the truth abt Ryan. He tries to give her as many hints as he can, but thats it. So maybe her past is also sealed in the same way? (hide spoiler)]
I think its unfair to judge him too harshly, especially considering he might be working under a whole new set of rules that we might not know yet.
Of course he might do something really really dumb later, but for now, I like him a lot, and I really wanna give him the benefit of the doubt. Which is of course coloring all my speculations.

[Lannister]

I need to reread this series as well. When I read the newest book, I kinda wished that I'd reread everything else before I started, as I felt I was forgetting a lot of details, but, oh well, too late now!

[[deleted user]]

I love this series, started it when the first book came out. Read all the books associated with the series. I'd love to add some comments, but I would like to reread all the books again just to get my thoughts in line. There's something about her "dreams" in the demon realm the don't sit right with me...

Right now, though, I have a commitment to read the "Infected" series, which I am starting on today!

[Lannister]

Maybe we should do a group read in a couple months time or something? I'd love to read these books again.

[Arushi]

@Duane - GOOD!!!! Finally!!! Yep, Infected first :D

@Lannister - please read NH first!!! You promised *gives u the puppy dog eyes*

But the idea to do a group read is cool :) We should try that. There are too many subtle clues littered all over the place to remember them all.

[Lannister]

Don't worry Arushi! After I read the Mageri books, I'll read the first NH book (or maybe more if I get sucked in). Then I'm starting the Infected series. Plus I want to read the new Stacia Kane, also a Suzanne Collins book for GG&G April read. Then I'll reread Kara Gillian - so that should be about May or June then LOL!

[[deleted user]]

@Lannister - I have to back up Arushi on this - the NH series is good read. The NHW (Night Huntress World) not so much.

[Arushi]

LOL.. and I thought I was busy..
How about we schedule the re-read (or read as the case may be) for May? That should work for everyone involved.
I have my last final on 2nd May, so I'll really need something to unwind after that.

[Lannister]

Yeah, that would suit me fine for May! :)

[[deleted user]]

Just tell me what to do... ;)

[Sandra, Need more time to Read!!]

We'll set up a thread for a series re-read beginning May. No problem :)

[Lannister]

Thanks Sandra! :D

[Arushi]

Sandra wrote: "We'll set up a thread for a series re-read beginning May. No problem :)"

Yep! Thanks Sandra :)

[Dawn, Desperately seeking new worlds]

I would love to do a re-read and May is perfect I will be done with classes.

[Lannister]

Excellent! The more people involved, the better!

[Gin]

May would be perfect for me also. I'll hold off on reading till then. I was debating rereading first anyway.

[Dawn, Desperately seeking new worlds]

gin wrote: "May would be perfect for me also. I'll hold off on reading till then. I was debating rereading first anyway."

I would not wait after all you can always read it again LOL

[Lannister]

LOL, I don't think I could wait either! I'm always depressed after Xmas and New Year, when I have to go back to work after a nice long holiday and it's cold outside, but at least I had this book to cheer me up when it came out in January (plus the new Jane Yellowrock book by Faith Hunter - another awesome series).

[Madn]

@Amy

Thanks, Amy! I think I just need to vent all of my theories. I should probably re-read the series, but I'm not in a rush because it's not like the next book is coming out any time soon! :( It's ridiculous to have that kind of cliffhanger when the next installment is a year away!!

[Sarah]

OMG! I finished Sins of the Demon last night! And I am all kinds of confused and anxious for the next book!

[Dawn, Desperately seeking new worlds]

Sarah wrote: "OMG! I finished Sins of the Demon last night! And I am all kinds of confused and anxious for the next book!"

I know exactly how you feel!

[Gin]

I like Jane Yellowrock also. I think I still have the newest to read in that series as well

[Gin]

See waiting won't hurt me any. I have a pile high enough I could probably read a book a day for the next year and still probably not even make a dent!

[Lannister]

Gin, The Jane Yellowrock series is awesome! I love it. You'll definitely need to read the new one soon. :)

I'm with you on the huge TBR pile. I can't stop buying books (not to mention all the Kindle freebies) and I've no idea when I'll get through them all. Oh well, I suppose there's worse problems in life!! :D

[Gin]

Lannister wrote: "Gin, The Jane Yellowrock series is awesome! I love it. You'll definitely need to read the new one soon. :)

I'm with you on the huge TBR pile. I can't stop buying books (not to mention all the Kind..."

It would be so much easier if I could just read in my sleep!

[Dawn, Desperately seeking new worlds]

My TBR is ridiculous in terms of what I own (kindle, nook and paperback) not to mention all the holds I get from the library.

Plus new books keep coming out.

I like to think there could be worse problems.

[Sandra, Need more time to Read!!]

I'm sure there must be worse problems, but I'm too busy reading to notice. LOL

[Arushi]

Amy wrote: "Arushi wrote: "gin wrote: "@Amy you sound like you really like the whole love triangle thing. Another series with a hard to choose love triangle is
I still don't kn..."

LOL I am glad you liked it :) And don't worry abt the waiting. We're bearing it right along with you!

I dunno who I like more, but then I don't care to choose anymore. I've been re-reading Anita Blake, if you get my drift.

But I dunno.. while Death is awesome, like c'mon.. the guy is super cool! no one else can even see him and so a 'normal' relationship with him can't work.

Falin.. he needs to get rid of that Queen first. But see.. he does NOT love the queen. She's the boss, and a cruel one at that. Nothing more.

I am all for keeping both the guys. But its UF, not PNR, so thats so not gonna happen. Plus both guys get jealous and have egos. You need a diplomat for something like that to work. sigh.

Anita Blake is definitely another love triangle one.. but I think its an octagon.. or more by now. But then I am on Book 14.

[Gin]

As for Anita, that is one love triangle that just irritated me. Everything about it, but then I could not stand Richard. He annoyed the crap out of me, and I never understood why she even gave him the time of day

Amy, I'm so glad you enjoyed the Alex Craft series. It was one that totally caught me by surprise also. I think I agree with you that I like Death better, but I see that them having a relationship is somewhat unrealistic. Like Arushi said, there is so much we don't know about his world. I think the missing pieces will be what adds just as much drama to their relationship as with her and Falin's.

Oh, and Darkness was my favorite also.

[Arushi]

@Amy - I think my favorite guy period in the Anita books is Edward. All bad-ass, and with the least baggage and that is so saying something. LOL.
Out of Anita's men... yeah.. initially I thought Richard might be ok, but he's just so... blind!!! Its like he just won't see stuff right in front of his face. I hate whiners too, even when its the female lead. So the guy doing it.. just no.
I like JC, and Jason, but I think my fav is Micah. He's cool.

I agree with u also on Death. There might not be a HEA, but I'd also like to see at least a little happy :) I also wish Falin was not conflicted. But the whole mess is what makes it so darn attractive...

@Gin - Down with whiners? Agreed!!! Depending on if u read all of Anita Blake or stopped in the middle, you must truly hate Richard, and I completely agree with you.

Darkness is my fav too :) I think we can agree that he's one the coolest guys that Merry has!
I like Rhys as my second fav.. tho Sholto is also really cool!