Mariam's Reviews > Nightfall

Can we stop pretending this is a dinner party and get back to why you have a drawing of the Nightfall symbol?

Please do.

WARNING: RANT AHEAD

So many characters and alter-egos and talking and the love triangle/square that ultimately makes me hate Keefe (I'm sorry! I don't want to!) and all of this chaos. There's only so much you can put in a series, Shannon Messenger. I'm sorry, but this is too much.

A List of My Issues:

1. Too Many Characters

I miss the old crew. They were well-defined characters that I treasured. But now? They hardly show up in the book! Dex is shoved into the background where he makes random gadgets appear to advance the plot, Fitz has officially earned the title of "Sophie's Energy Booster" and nothing more (MY POOR BABY WHY.) The two newer characters, Linh and Tam, aren't too bad, but the bodyguards and Black Swan members keep throwing me off because there are so many of them! That may be my fault, though, because I didn't get the chance to reread the previous book before reading this book.

2. No One Knows What the Hell is Going On

“I know you’re still refusing to see me as anything more than a villain in this conflict, but like it or not, I’m the only one trying to build a solution.”
“To what?” Sophie asked.
“Problems you’re still not ready to face.

That's code for "IDK." Please remind me what the bad guys are being bad for because I honestly don't remember. And it doesn't seem anyone in the book remembers either.

3. The WORST Love Triangle/Square I Have Ever Faced

Twilight's love triangle was bad. Red Queen's love triangle was bad. Heck, The Hunger Games' love triangle was bad because ALL love triangles are bad. But what makes Nightfall's love triangle/square/thing the worst?

I love Keefe, Fitz, and Dex. Since book one, I have learned to love them, and when it comes to choosing one of them for Sophie, it's only natural I have to cringe when the other two have a "moment" with her. Dex didn't suffer too badly, but poor, poor Keefe did. Every time he even gets close to Sophie I find myself hating him which makes me want to cry.

4. The Plot

The series is going in circles. Repetition, repetition, repetition. Enough said. Specifically, though, Nightfall's plot was atrociously weak. There was a whole lot of sitting around a table and planning, and very little doing. And the lack of explanation really turned me off.

5. Fitz

Fitz has been my favorite character since book one so he deserves a category of his own. Not once in the entire book did he get to show off his skills and much of his personality was smothered by Sophie and Keefe. He is a delicate character, a character that I tucked under my wing and watched blossom from "Wonderboy" to a man that will stop at nothing to protect his friends. He deserves so much better and I adored every moment he made an appearance in Nightfall. Seriously, though, he's gotten so touchy-feely with Sophie. He's wearing cologne now. My little cinnamon roll is all grown up.

“Tell me about it,” Fitz said, fanning the front of his red bramble jersey. “I was halfway through my morning run when Blur showed up—so now I’m all sweaty.”
“And smelling awesome,” Keefe added with a choked cough.

God, I miss the Fitz/Keefe friendship. And the Sophie/Biana friendship.

But most of all, I miss the old, simplistic plot. I love Shannon Messenger's writing, I really do, but not this book. Try again next time?