Arcana Chronicles (series sp)

duxcaelo

I saw @j*&p* mention this on Friday and I know other people have previously, too. I didn't have anything on deck, so I picked this series up from my library and finished all three over the weekend. I broke my rule for not reading non-finished YA series, but it was SO good. 

At first I had a hard time getting into it, since it reminded me of a series I read years ago by Jennifer Fallon. It was an adult fantasy that took place on a world where immortal people were also represented on Tarot cards, with a similar twist being that magic ebbed and flowed over thousands of years, so there would be a "high tide" where the immortals had access to magic and a "low tide" where they didn't. The Tarot was meant to remind and warn people that the high tides would come again. It starts with The Immortal Prince.

Anyway, once Poison Princess got to Evie's perspective of the Flash, I was hooked! And once I finished the third, I immediately started re-reading the first. The last time I wanted to do that was when I read HP#7.  There are so many little clues even in book one; I will probably finish the other two as well before returning them to the library.

I was super interested to see how the love triangle worked out and while I thought she'd pick Jack, Aric was my favorite. Can you imagine having lived over two thousand years and trying to keep up with the world? Or being unable to touch anyone except one person for maybe at most a month or two total of that time? There seem to be just as many gals as guys that are cards, but for the longest time, in many cultures, women weren't considered equal to men, so I didn't find it strange that he just assumed she'd marry him. I thought it was great how both guys are trying to adapt to this new world and their different perspectives in having such a magically strong female character beside them. 

The evil cards were just vile and some of their behavior was tough to read, especially the cannibals. Yuck!

I am looking forward to meeting the other cards and seeing how some of those relationships pan out. I want to know more about the Flash and about the past competitions. I'm holding out hope that Jack made it and that he's secretly the card who hasn't been outed, even if Matthew said he wasn't Arcana. Matthew's visions from book one certainly make more sense now!

j*&p*

Isn't the series so good? I'm so glad I have someone else to fangirl about Evie and Jack and Aric with. 

I'm team sexy Cajun all the way, but I also really felt for Aric and thought he was such a great character. Seeing him and Jack develop a grudging respect for each other in the 3rd book was so much fun. I'm still holding out hope that Jack is alive too. My theory is that he's the Hanged Man and will be activated soon or that he is something else sent by the gods that can neutralize or end the game. I'm so bummed that Selena is gone. I loved how her her and Evie's relationship evolved since the beginning too. 

This Emperor guy seems crazy. He could easily just kill everyone in an earthquake or lava flood and win the game. Maybe more information from Evie's grandma will give them the key to defeating him. I hope we get to see more of Circe (was that her name- the girl in the water?) in the next book too. 

duxcaelo

Yes, the bromance was one of my favorite parts of book 3! I hope that there's a good match for Aric somewhere down the line, if Jack makes it!

I think Jack being the Hanged Man makes sense, especially since "every time he helps, he hurts."  I was sad for Selena, too! I finally grew to like her. 

I wonder if Circe is the one that sent the wave of water at the end? I thought she was definitely an interesting character! I want to meet the other cards! I think more of them will show up to help deal with the Emperor, that jerk. I also wonder what Matthew is up to.

I was thinking that if this is a game, then at some point, there's got to be like a final round, right? Maybe they can make this one it. Since we don't know how many there have been in the past, maybe this will be the 22nd one? It would also be nice to get a better scoop on the gods.

I'm really curious to met Evie's grandmother. It'll be interesting to see what she has to say, especially since she was encouraging Evie to become the Red Witch when she was so little.

I think there has to be something has to be in Texas! That is where Jack wanted to go at first and also where Evie's grandmother was trying to take her!