Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I adore the Black Jewels books and have reread the series many times. I had the release date for this book saved in my calendar and bought it the day it came out. Sadly, I wish she had never written it. It makes no sense to me. The Surreal from the previous books is not present in this one. Whether you liked her character or not, you had to admit she was a strong woman who would take care of her loved ones and would fight to protect them. (I always liked her) In this book, Surreal has been stripped of all her character and history and complexity, and reduced to some empty character that uses the old Surreals catch phrases like “sugar” but has nothing else in common with her * almost spoilers but no specifics follow Surreal basically acts like a selfish aristo lady, the same kind she “protected” Sadi from all those years. She is not a partner or a loving spouse. She does not communicate. She vacillates between lust and fear and demanding sex but treating him without any tenderness or affection. She demands to be “serviced” regardless of his physical or mental condition. She accuses him and ignores his symptoms and pain, and refuses to communicate. Daemon is literally physically and mentally mutilating himself to try and be what she wants. If Anne Bishop woke up one day and thought “I’ve decided I hate Surreal because she married Daemon after Jaenelle died, so I’m going to write a book to make everyone else hate her too” this is that book The saddest part is this doesn’t just ruin this book, it ruins every book Surreal is in. How do I go back and enjoy my favorite books again knowing this is the character Surreal becomes? It taints everything.