Light of the Stygian Orb (Dark Descendants Book 5)

This series continues to impress me and draw me in. It's been well over 30 years (?!?!?) since I was 16, but I was taken right back there through Molly's chapters. Worrying about worrying parents, having schoolwork when you don't want to be bothered by it because OTHER STUFF is going on, and having a crush on a friend is way in the past for me, but I felt all the same things Molly did as she was going through them.

The other thing that impressed me about Molly's chapters was how everything was described. Molly is deafblind but has cochlear devices so she can hear everything pretty well, but she can't see at all. There was nothing in her chapters about how things LOOKED. Molly's mother sitting down beside her was described in terms of what Molly heard and what she felt, giving us a glimpse into what it is like to be blind. When I'm on the couch in the living room and my husband is bustling around in the kitchen, I sometimes play the game "What is he doing now?" Molly has to do that all the time, and I gained a new appreciation for my vision through reading about her.

Zach's chapters were strikingly different, describing events as he was seeing them, just like all of the other characters in this series and most books written by everyone else. I can tell that the author spent a lot of time making sure all of the details in Molly's chapters were right. I wonder if the author spent long stretches of time blindfolded to gain a blind person's perspective.

I wrote in another review in this series that I didn't think I could relate to Allegra (the succubus who feeds by having sex with and killing humans) but was drawn in and learned to love Allegra in the end. I wasn't sure if I could relate to Zach, either, since he's half angel and half demon, but again I was drawn in! His internal struggle at all times was described perfectly. He's this enormous, muscular, dangerous "angel-demon hybrid" (as it says in the book's description), but he still watches out for Molly and takes care of a tiny black kitten named Dusty. She reminded me of a kitten I once had (Frisco, a tiny black kitten we found in our bushes who always seemed to be covered in dust and cobwebs until he got comfortable with us), and I relived his kittenhood a bit through Dusty. Even the kitten drew me in!

I can't get into any more about the book without giving away any spoilers. Suffice it to say that I loved it and am super excited for the finale of this incredible series.

Oh - one last thing. If you're about two-thirds of the way through the book and want to just read a chapter or two before going to sleep, don't. You'll lose sleep and be bleary-eyed in the morning. Learn from my mistakes. :)