Final Heir, Audio Book

Final Heir, Audio Book (2022) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam (Jane Yellowrock #15)

The final Jane Yellowrock book.

Well, I finished it. And on audio no less.

Did I enjoy it?

I don’t really think I did.

Most of the major deaths occurred in the last book (and there were some shockers there). There were deaths here, but of minor characters, which weakened the impact of everything. Did I want other major characters to do? No, I did not. Was it likely they would have gone through everything they did in this book without other major deaths? No, it was not.

It also made Jane’s grief/rage when Bruiser was seriously injured seem performative.

I was also heartily sick of hearing Bruiser and every other attractive male described as “sex on a stick”.

The relationship between Leo and Grégoire was left unfinished. Leo has become an outclan priest, to the extent of wearing a clerical collar the way Sabina wore a nun’s habit. But did that mean he also took up celibacy, the way Sabina seemed to have? How did Grégoire feel about that? Obviously Grégoire was glad to have the love of his life back (because let us be clear, Leo is the love of Grégoire’s life and undeath) but in what capacity?

For everything Grégoire had been through in his long undeath, he–more than pretty much anyone else in the story–deserved love and happiness. Especially considering that he gets referred to repeatedly as Leo’s “boy toy”, which considering he’d been forcibly turned at 15 and bound into sexual slavery seems to be adding insult to injury.

Wrassler and Jodi get a HEA but not Grégoire?

The queer rep in this series is not great, especially with Dion being little more than a campy stereotype.

Then there’s Angie. Throughout the series Angie is portrayed as both older and younger than her given age, regardless of how her age in the story. Same for EJ. Additionally, Angie is frequently used as a deus-ex-machina, having whatever powers Jane happens to need at the time manifest, while Molly and Evan seem more and more like the bumbling parents of every teen comedy, always three steps behind when the story needed it.

I very much disliked the abrupt change in personality of Aggie One Feather at the start of the story. And then there is Ayatas, whose appearance in the story always felt off, and who was little more than a stick figure here.

The bits with Hayyel just… didn’t really work for me. At all. Nor did the changing of the vampires from Vlad the Impaler types to sparkly sex objects.

I’m glad I finished the series finally, but the end was a let-down from how things began.

Characters: Jane Yellowrock, Beast, Eli Younger, Alex Younger, Bruiser/George Dumas, Brute, Leo Pellissier, Koun, Tex, Thema, Kojo, Ayatas FireWind, Hayalasti Sixmankiller/Grandmother, Ka N’vsita, Shiloh Everhart Stone, Bliss/Ailis Rogan, Florence, Deon, Gee DiMercy, Longfellow, Brandon and Brian Robere, Long-Knife, Wrassler, Florence, Quint, Rick LaFleur, Deon, Opal, Pearl, Quint, Molly Trueblood, Evan Trueblood, Angelina Trueblood, EJ Trueblood, Cassandra Trueblood, Liz Everhart, Cia, Carmen, Edmund Hartley, Grégoire, Hayyel, Lachish Dutillett, Carmine, Fawn, Reach, Mainet Pellissier/Aram Bar Ioudas, Butterfly Lily, Feather Storm, Quesnel, Santiago Molina, Soledad Martinez, Malita, Angel Tit

Cover by Cliff Nielsen

Published by Audible

Rating: 5/10

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