My Favorite Series, My First Non Five Star Rating :(
935666
I've rated every book in the series 5 stars up until now. I've even read the series twice. It's that great....until now
This book needs a thorough editing. Easily corrected issues throughout.
Way, way too much backstory. In previous books, any backstory was placed into the storyline with finesse, and brevity...this book, it's like re-reading previous books. A waste of space which could have been used for fresh material.
Also, as other reviewers have noted, this is like half a book. Definitely not up to the standards we are used to in this series.
There are clunky areas...where it's not clear what the author means.
The problems with the book pull you out of the story - which is a real bummer.
I am usually thrilled to get to read a new book in the series, but now I am apprehensive. I don't want to be disappointed again. The dip in quality has occurred since losing an author, sorry to point out.
It's a shame...such a phenomenal series. To have it, simply, start to peter out like this...... Not cool. :(
4669448
I finally have all of them.  #4 and #5 are my favorite from the series.  #3 is my least favorite.
437332
I have read most of the reviews, I'm sorry I can't agree with most of them.  Jake is one of my very favorite characters, and this series one of my go to when I'm feeling out of sorts.  I can't say that I enjoy all the sex being an older woman, and having been told that I'm some what of a prude, but like any other book, I just skip those parts, and get on with the story.  P.S. Power, you are rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors, keep them coming, and I'll keep reading them...
1037820
Reader thoughts:
These books are so addicting! I do enjoy them a lot, but I have some issues with them, too.

JKR puts too much witchcraft and ghosts into her books, and I can't stand the characters. They lie and cheat and steal, even when it isn't necessary. They're very disobedient and rarely get punished for it. They're also immature under their age some of the time. The children treat the adults like stupid overseers, and most of the adults act that way.

Plus, these fit into the books-that-make-me-moody-when-I'm-reading-them category. I get upset more easily and feel stressed when I'm reading certain books, especially ones that have disobedient characters (or mean characters, or ones that have bad morals). Those books tend to get DNFed.

However, you can clearly see that I like these (read multiple times and 4/5 stars). Why do I like them?

Moving castle! My favorite part of the whole series is the Hogwarts school. I like the sorting, the classes, the tests, the magical creatures, and the strong personalities of not only students but teachers also.

Hermione! She is, by far, my favorite character. She was a lot like I was, actually. I have no doubt that she has influenced countless young girls to like learning. She puts up with rather knuckleheaded friends, but I love that she loves school.

The Dursleys. It's not that I like them, but they do make these books more interesting. I always feel sorry for Harry after reading anything about the Dursleys.

The plot is good, too. Sure, there are lots of stories that have a prophecy and a chosen one, but it's a fun plot all the same. There's so much pressure on Harry, and lots of expectations. Everyone he meets in the wizarding world either hates him or loves him, but they all know him. It's cool.

It's basically a rags-to-riches tale. I love the idea of an orphan boy who suddenly finds out he has magic and there's this great magical community. I love the idea of a dark lord trying to take over and targeting this young boy in particular. I love that a mother's love is given so much power.

Writer thoughts:
I think JKR is an amazing writer. The plotting and descriptions and story and ideas are all superb. I love all the brilliant foreshadowing.

She is also really good at stretching a plot over the course of a year and not making it feel slow. JKR can pass time without the reader realizing it. Suddenly it's autumn. Suddenly is Christmas. And then spring tests. Authors can learn a lot from studying her books.
4322036
Guys, come on. Everyone knows that this series is amazing. I rate this five on the writing alone.  If this is the first link you click on looking for the books, you'll be fine.
4815965
Love the entire series.... I couldn't get into it
645043
Ok, I absolutely LOVE this series. Riordan has grown a ton as a writer, and it's pretty clearly shown.
However, I'm so angry about the ending. It sort of just cut off, and there were no real closure. That would be fine, if it weren't the end of the series, or if there was another sequel announced (the book announced at the end is an entirely new series with a different set of mythologies)
I still love it, and will continue to agonize over it, and will probably read the next series too, It's just a little frustrating.
3061060
I love this series! I mean I love it!! It is a must read as soon as it gets into my greedy little paws! That being said, this book just did not "pop" for me. I was peeved that Max acted like an immature child about her relationship with Alexander; I get it, she has trust issues and has shut herself off from getting too close to someone. I also get that she does it without even realizing it because of said issues. I get it, I do. However, the Max I have grown to love is brave and smart and resourceful, and she never hides from her problems, she meets them head-on, so I was really irritated by her whiney pity me party that she felt about her love life through most of the book. She whined, she hid, she ran, and she made the poorest decisions so far in the series while preparing herself for death over and over again. For a chick that is supposed to feel responsible and fiercely protective of those around her, she sure does throw herself into no win situations easily. I mean she never thinks that maybe if she dies it will be lights out for those around her? I also thought the author did a poor job on writing about the relationship while incorporating the plot around it; the amount of angst the central characters had toward each other left me feeling cold about their relationship in general, and made it hard for me to really get in to their intimacy when they came together.
Overall I thought this book felt rushed and a bit unsubstantial compared to the others. Still a decent read, and I cant wait for the next in the series.
3068526
I love this series, and like Lola Kidd's writing style.  Plus, I am happy that Ben got to come up the bat as hero.  However, Zelda came across as a bit too shallow for my tastes, and I lost all respect for Ben's mom.  I have to wonder how these two would read as a couple were it not for the mating bond; yet, there is no denying that the two shoot sparks off of each other.  I'm very interested to see if there will be an update of these two in Kai's book.  I hope so as I like the cameos made by the previous featured brides and shifters in each others stories.  I am looking forward to reading book 8 even though I am not looking forward to the end of this series.
1503470
Ok, so this is my favorite in the series so far!  I want to say what I loved about it but there would have to be major spoiler alerts all the way through this review!  And no, you will not enjoy it as much if you don't start at the first one.  And no, i did not pay for this, I am cheap (child in college), borrowing it from my fabulous library!
102542
I love this series. I read them all in a week, thank heavens my library had them! But I'm not reviewing the characters or plot right now, I want to let any parents who are trying to find out if this book is good for their teenager know it is not.
Books 1 through 4 were great and relatively clean and kept you on the edge of your seat.
And then five came in like a whirlwind of sex. By my count (I could be wrong) there were three very descriptive scenes. I'm an adult. I read romance books. And these still caught me by surprise! I think mostly because I was supposed to be reading a YA novel. I was actually rather disappointed that the author made it so far in the series and then BAM had to be descriptive about things. I was recommending this series to my 16 yo sister, but after reading the fifth book no longer recommend them.
2827881
This is my Favorite series since I started listening to audiobooks a little over a year ago. I've listened to tons of sci-fi since then, and this, so far has been my favorite.

Special note: I hate Mechs, God I really think they are dumb, and a stupid vehicle of war. I imagine a flying orb would be more efficient. Anyhow, I still like this series because Mechs aren't really the focus, which could be a plus or a minus depending on how you look at it.

I'm 4 books in... it's a bit hard for me to distinguish between where one book ends and the other begins. They are kinda short too. So far, every book has been about equally entertaining, so I will simply be rating the series as a whole here.

This author has done an amazing job at creating and describing alien species in a way that adequately relates to the reader how foreign and alien these other creatures are! Whenever it talks about the aliens I am riveted!

The main characters are likable. I feel they are good people and I can related to them.

The culture clash and racism in this book are interesting to ponder over.

Things not great about this series...
The author is modestly weak at describing battles. There is a noticeable lack of strategy and planning when it comes to clashes. So... unfortunately, this causes a lot of the battle sequences to lack tension. My mind often goes a bit numb when listening about these clashes, as I just wait to hear what the conclusion was. There are a couple of exceptions. A really epic moment in the 3rd book is truly fun, and some conflicts going on within the characters during a couple of other battle sequences made them interesting, but mostly, I'm not entertained when this author begins to depict a clash.

This author could describe some of the technology and scientific theory better. I am a bit mystified about how faster than light travel works in this universe. The author is great at describing implants, nano machines, biology, but poor at describing things that involve physics and movement.

Regardless of these minor shortcomings the series really is an A+
2521728
I do not understand where you are coming from. Twice now I have almost listened to those few views and twice now I have been proven wrong. I am personally not a fan of series that change their characters almost daily, and I see very sutble but noticeable changes in Private Neya. She is, of course, still not the most well-spoken Hawk. She is still, also, not always on time. She is slowly changing with her duties though and she tends to have a back story to why she was not on time.

There is also, no true argument to say these books never go anywhere. Each book could almost stand on its own and Cast In Courtlight, Cast In Secret, and Cast In Fury all had to do with a different race. Cast In Shadow was more of an introduction to the main characters and a general layout of the world while having a case to solve (which, I will add, all the stories have a case to solve that is different in -each- book) and Cast In Silence was a look into Kaylin's past while keeping the series moving forward in a beautiful fashion.

Cast In Chaos (to get back on subject) is yet another different book in what has become one of my favorite series. More of the strange history of Elantra is shown, a greater understanding of the Keeper's duty and the elements is revealed, the Arkon, Sanabalis, and the rest of the Dragon Court play a more major role, we finally learn who Kaylin's teacher for Etiquette lessons is (admittedly the lessons never take place in this book, but anyone who visits Michelle Sagara's website will see she says the following book Cast In Ruin, practically starts with them), Tara's understanding of the world is also revealed in greater dept, there is a hint of knowledge about the marks as well (if you pay attention), and we actually learn something about Lord Nightshade and his interest in Kaylin. There is actually more within the series but I am trying to limit the length of this review, with poor results I am sure.

I was very happy with Cast In Chaos and will continue to read the series. If you are looking for questions to be answered -now- then this series will probably continue to frustrate you, but if you enjoy each book for its story and know how to put the pieces together between what is said, not said, and implied then I fully believe you will enjoy Cast In Chaos and any other Chronicle of Elantra book that has already come out or is eventually coming.
3447274
Ok this was very hard for me, because I LOVE this series! This book had me loving and hating it all at the same time. I do understand what had to be done but I don't have to like it! LOL Being made so upset or worried and mad just shows what a great job the author did to suck you in. I won't give anything away but all I can say is read it! This is an amazing series and one of my all time favorites!!!!
944277
So I had an inkling about what the book would be about due to the name, and it's a sci-fy type and i was right, but Butcher did a wonderful job putting new twists in and I can't help but love the characters! I love this series so far!
I was rather disappointed with the shipping, it took quite a while to ship which was disappointing because I practically inhaled the first book and am not very patient when it comes to a series. When I finally got the package it looked like it was mauled (appropriate for the book I suppose haha).
It had some spinal damage that fortunately was fixed with some scotch tape. I knew it was used and for the price i got it was not so bad but still, at least it had all the pages and was readable
540653
Loved this first book. That being said , if I had known there were 5 in this series I would not have started it , book 1 was definitely the best.  Would not recommend the rest of this series.
1666924
The End of Oz.  The end of one of my favorite series of all time.  I am very torn as I write this review.  I didn't want the series to end.  Although I felt very satisfied once all the dust settled, I am still torn.  On the good side - love the development of the relationship of Amy and Nox.  This is the most well done writing I've ever read when it comes to how awkward young love really is.  And - *spoiler alert* - had Amy and Nox not ended well, I would have been seriously angry.  I still have a hard time accepting Madison as anything other than the evil beast who ruined Amy's 9th birthday (that really struck a chord with me - there's just no coming back from that).  Nonetheless, I can see where she was going with the redemption of Madison, especially considering how everything plays out in the end.  Many characters (but not all, of course), are redeemed, and that is an important part of where the story goes.

Here's the negative part, though:  I did not want to hear anything from Dorothy's perspective.  Adding chapters written completely from the perspective of the book's most despicable villain really bothered me.  And I won't lie - I actually didn't read those chapters.  I skimmed them a little - just to get the main idea - but I didn't read them.  And even now that I've read the Amy's chapters at least twice (some of them more) I still can't get myself to read Dorothy's.

Had the book not ended so well, I might have knocked off a star.  However, despite the waste of space with Dorothy's perspective, I can actually say this is my favorite book of the series (maybe because Nox and Amy finally admit their feelings).

I was so sad to see this series end.  I would love to read any further adventures about Amy and Nox and this recreated Oz.  I was so hungry for more that I actually purchased the B & N edition that included an epilogue.  Yes - I paid for a hard cover edition of a book that I already owned, including shipping, and you know what?  I don't regret it.