Review: Forgiven by Jana Oliver

Forgiven (The Demon Trapper's #3) by Jana Oliver
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Release date: 1st March 2012
Rating: 4/5

Goodreads description:

Riley Blackthorne. Kicking hell’s ass one demon at a time...

Riley has made a bargain with Heaven, and now they've come to collect.

Lucifer's finest are ruling the streets and it seems that Armageddon might be even closer than Riley imagined. But with her soul and her heart in play it's all she can do to keep herself alive, let alone save the world. Riley's not afraid of kicking some major demon butt, but when it comes to a battle between Heaven and Hell, she might need a little help...

My thoughts:

I've loved this series since I read the first book last year. I love the dystopian feel of the society, and the interesting inclusion of theology and of course, Riley Blackthorne. The impulsively brave and occasionally stupid yet loyal and fierce heroine. After the ending of the 3rd one (can I just say 'noooooooo!!') I was desperate to find out what would happen in the aftermath of Riley's choice and the consequences of it.

I definitely liked Riley more in this book. I feel like she finally realised that actually, her actions DO have consequences and she pretty much can't just do what she wants all the time. I think this led to a new level of responsibility in her character that I appreciated.

I also loved her friendship with Peter, and the relationship that develops between her and Mort and Stuart in this book. I like how they can all rely on each other, there's true friendships in this book and I liked that. Riley's relationship with Beck also progressed in this book, which, whilst good, I found slightly frustrating. It felt a little bit like it was going round in circles, like they were just dancing round the issue for NO reason at all other than to torture the readers. 

 I felt the pacing was off slightly in this book. It could be because I read it in many sittings, but I felt a bit like the final big battle sort of came from nowhere. One minute I was all "lalalala" and the next "huh...? Armegeddon is NOW?!" Having said that, the final battle was pretty epic. I liked how it panned out, what happened with the whole Heaven and Hell issue....pretty clever. 

Maliciously, I'm happy about what happened with Simon. He deserved that and so much more.  

As usual, the ending leaves you with lots of "ommggg" feelings, and I can't wait to see how everything will end up in Foretold. I loved how the ending mimicked that of Forbidden, yet it shows how much Riley has grown between that book and this, based on her reactions. 


I absolutely cannot wait for the final instalment of this gripping and well-thought-out series!