Killing Rites: Book Four of The Black Sun's Daughter [Mass Market Paperback]

Killing Rites is the fourth book in the Black Sun's Daughter series by M.L.N. Hanover. I really enjoyed this book. I read it in one day, in one sitting, because I just couldn't put it down. This series started out a little slow, but had quickly picked up speed with books two and three, to be set on fire with book four!

This story picks up two months after Vicious Grace (book 3), in which Jayné Heller has to try and move forward after the horrible events that happened in Chicago's Grace Memorial. Emotionally strung out from those events, her psyche torn, and deep in shame from thinking she has a rider inside her, she sets off with Ex, unwisely leaving the one person who centers her, Chogyi Jake, behind to heal from his wounds in which she feels responsible. Aubrey and Kim are no longer in the picture as they are trying to pick up the pieces of their broken life. Decidedly, Ex and Jayné head out on their two person mission to expel the rider she believes is living inside her, calling on Ex's past "family" of demon fighting priests to help. We get a lot of great back story into Ex's history and why he left the priesthood. We eventually get Chogyi Jake back into the story and we even get a few pages with our favorite vampire, Midian as he returns just in time to give Jayné some sage advise.

Hanover really takes us deep into Jayné mind and we get a closer look at who she really is as well as getting a deeper understanding of whats inside her. We meet the Black Sun's Daughter and we find a little about her moral character. Ex is very prominent in this book and becomes somewhat of a love interest. I loved that! In the first two books, his character wasn't really developed and he seemed a bit annoying at times as well as sullen as he sulked over his unrequited crush on Jayné. So seeing his character "man up" and diverge from that was great! Up until book three, Aubrey was Jayné's love interest but he always seemed way to fragile for the life they were trying to lead. Ex quickly became my hero in this story as he took care of Jayné and tried to protect her. My only real complaint is Hanover kept bringing Ex into a romantic light, or tried to, and then failed to actual progress that part of the story. I was disappointed there wasn't more to this aspect since it kept being brought up in the pages. It just seemed lacking and I kept expecting something, anything, to happen.. it just fell flat. Maybe in the next book....

My only other complaint is the ending and the "final showdown" was just.... anticlimactic. I was expecting something bigger. Without giving to much away, the odds were huge, but the events were small.

Overall, this book was great and a terrific next step in the series. I would definitely recommend reading it. Its got loads of action, a lot of character development, drama, some very cute moments with a dog named Ozzie and there were some scary parts as well. Possessed kids always freak me out! I do recommend reading these books in order though or you might get a little lost in the events and back story.

Well, we finally know for sure who the Black Sun's Daughter is --and Jayné has some really tough decisions to make. Now that she realizes she is carrying a rider within her, her first impulse is to get it out. But things are much more complicated than a simple possession. This entity has saved her bacon over and over again. Jayné must struggle with the true nature of the spirit and she questions the right course to take.

Ex is a big force in this story. Aubrey and Kim have been phased out. Chogyi Jake is still recovering and is absent through the first half of the book. Only Ex has been at Jayné's side as she comes to terms with the source of her strength. And he is the one who introduces her to the priests who set out to perform an exorcism. The priests are a big part of Ex's history and in spending time with them, Jayné learns alot about what has shaped Ex into the man he is today.

I've been waiting and waiting for Jayné and Ex to make the connection I've always thought was simmering beneath the surface. The guy is clearly in love with her, but just because his heart is in the right place, that doesn't mean he has all the right answers. This book is markedly different from the last in that the lion's share of it is an internal struggle, as opposed to an external one. Jayné has to figure out her true nature; who she can trust; and what she wants for her future. Not every question gets an answer and that's frustrating. So many things happened in the last book. This one is more about her realizations. Ex and Chogyi Jake have important roles and even the old vampire Midian shows up, but mostly it's just about Jayné --and the Black Sun's Daughter.

It was slower, but good. It was important for the series. But I wish I had the next book in my hands to read. I want to see what Jayné will do with what she's learned. And I want her to get with Ex, darn it. (My patience is not without limits.) 4 stars.

Review Courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: Our heroine discovers the differences between good and evil, and all the grey areas in between the two. This book has lots of theological and philosophical debates followed by good ole-fashion demon fighting.

Opening Sentence: "So Miss Jayné," Father Chapin said, pronouncing my name correctly: Zha-nay.

The Review:

When I started this series, I had no clue why it was called the Black Sun's Daughter. After the three prior books, this is the one that finally answers my question. So you may ask yourself, who is the Black Sun's Daughter? Why, it's Jayné's demon, of course. Yes! So many questions have been posed throughout the series and now we get some of our long-awaited answers.

Jayné has always known that there was something different about her. She can fight, without really knowing how. She heals faster. She has powers that no one else does, and that has been giving her an edge in the war she and her team are waging on the demons. Up until now, Jayné thought that these "gifts" were wards placed on her by her deceased Uncle Eric. After the last big fight at Grace Memorial Hospital, she has another hypothesis: she is demon-possessed. Jayné and Ex go to Ex's former mentor, Father Chapin, for conformation. He offers to exorcise Jayné's demon and save her eternal soul. But while at the Father's place of operation, Jayné notices that there is something not quite right going on there. She senses another demon attacking her during the demon banishing ritual, but no one believes her. Jayné must decide whether to trust her fate to Ex and his former colleagues or come to an agreement with her own demon, Black Sun's Daughter, and fight the unknown one terrorizing the priests and the people they have helped.

Jayné's past experiences have led her to be cautious around true believers. Her faith in God has been tainted by her family. Now, she is forced to rely on these priests and their ideals to save her. But this doubt she has for religion lets her view the entire situation with more than just blind faith. She recognizes that there are shades of grey in good and evil, and is willing to accept that her demon may not be as bad as she once thought. Father Chapin disagrees. When Jayné starts to have second thoughts about being exorcised, the priests believe that the demon within her has taken over. They are not willing to listen to anything that Jayné has to say, including her hunch about another demon hanging around. Will Jayné be able to get the priests to realize the true danger around them before it is all too late?

Ex is a former Jesuit priest that trained in exorcisms for years before he left. Now that he has returned to the same men that he trained under and fought alongside so long ago, Ex falls into his old patterns of obedience. He truly believes that Jayné must get rid of her demon but he fails to take into account her change of heart. Ex's past and the reasons he is no longer a priest are revealed. He sees his chance for redemption for past failures in helping Jayné. He gets caught between his loyalty to the men that taught him everything he knows and the woman he has grown to love. Can Ex let go of his past? Or will the failures that have haunted him for years be doomed to repeat themselves?

Jayné knows that she will fight for what she feels is right, but is she willing to do it alone? In going off with Ex, she left everyone else on her team behind. Now that Ex is siding against her, she must find proof of the extra demon alone. Oddly, the only one she can rely on is another demon; the one inside her. Black Sun's Daughter is child-like in her interactions with Jayné. Even though she can do some serious damage in a fight, she is still young for a demon. But the demon has never given any reason to want to hurt anyone; she just wants to live. Jayné must decide whether to give Black Sun's Daughter a chance, or to kill her.

The arguments for the definitions of good and evil really do it for me in this book. Debating whether or not to base the right to life on if that creature has the capacity for evil; Jayné and the priests go back and forth on this point alone. Absolute is not a term that Jayné is comfortable with anymore, and it is a term that Father Chapin lives by. For most people, the philosophical topics discussed throughout the book are volatile. We all have opinions on good vs. evil and Faith vs. Atheism. Killing Rites explores these topics within Jayné and her particular situation. Can Jayné and the priests find a compromise, or will their feelings and ideals get in the way of an alliance against a common enemy?

Overall, this has been the best book of the series for me. Not only has the author answered long awaited questions about Jayné's powers, he has presented her in a very realistic light. Jayné cannot remain unaffected by all that she has experienced so far and not question the pros and cons of being demon-possessed by something as unique as Black Sun's Daughter. Jayné is a very strong and relatable character and I am eager to see what is in store for her future. Perhaps there is a future involving more of personal relationship with Ex? I can only hope.

The Black Sun's Daughter Series:

1. Unclean Spirits

2. Darker Angels

3. Vicious Grace

4. Killing Rites

FTC Advisory: Simon & Schuster/Pocket Books provided me with a copy of Killing Rites. No goody bags, sponsorships, "material connections," or bribes were exchanged for my review. The only payment received came in the form of hugs and kisses from my little boys.

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