The Gatekeeper's Daughter Blog Tour: Review & GIVEAWAY!!!

The last book is finally here! It's been five months since I read book two, The Gatekeeper's Challenge (you can read my review here if you'd like), and I'm so glad that the story can now continue. The Gatekeeper's Challenge ended in a bit of an upsetting cliffhanger for me, but now I finally know what happens!

Even though this tour stop is just for book three, The Gatekeeper's Daughter, here are the summaries for all of the books in the series.

Fifteen-year-old Therese watches her parents die. While in a coma, she meets the twin sons of Hades—Hypnos, the god of sleep, and Thanatos, the god of death. She thinks she's manipulating a dream, not kissing the god of death and totally rocking his world.

Than makes a deal with Hades and goes as a mortal to the Upperworld to try and win Therese's heart, but not all the gods are happy. Some give her gifts. Others try to kill her. 

The deal requires Therese to avenge the death of her parents. With the help of Than’s fierce and exotic sisters, the Furies, she finds herself in an arena face to face with the murderer, and only one will survive.

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Ten agonizing months have gone by since Therese faced off against her parents’ murderer at Mount Olympus, and she suspects Thanatos’s absence is meant to send her a message: go on with your life. She tries to return Pete’s affections even though her heart aches for the god of death, but when Than shows up to take her hamster’s soul, she becomes infuriated when he says he’s “been busy.” In cahoots with her new friend, who's gotten in with the Demon Druggies at school, Therese takes a drug that simulates a near-death experience, planning to tell Than off so she can have closure and move on, but things go very, very wrong. 

Eventually she learns Than has been busy searching for a way to make her a god, and he’s found it, but it requires her to complete a set of impossible challenges designed by Hades, who hopes to see her fail.

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In The Gatekeeper's Sons, Therese and Thanatos, the god of death, met and fell in love. In The Gatekeeper's Challenge, they did everything they could to be together, even break an oath on the River Styx. But the Olympians don't tolerate oath-breakers.

In this final book in the trilogy, The Gatekeeper's Daughter, Therese may have finally succeeded in becoming a goddess, but if she wants to remain one, she'll not only have to discover her unique purpose, but also make some allies among the gods. Artemis sends her on a seemingly impossible quest across the world, while Than searches for a way to appease Ares. To make matters worse, her baby sister's life depends on the outcome of her quest.

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Eva Pohler teaches writing at the University of Texas at San Antonio, where she lives with her husband, three children, two dogs, two rats, and her very large collection of books.

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My Review

I have a bit of a love hate relationship with series ending books. Obviously, I almost never jump for joy whenever I see them because, like any dedicated book lover, I don't want to say goodbye to the characters. If I've made it this far in the series, it's probably partly because I've come to love the people I'm reading about, and I don't want to let these new friends go. Who would?

There are a few times, however, when reading the last page in the final book of a series brings a little bit of joy. Not because I'm glad for it all to be done with, but because I finally get that sense of closure that's been missing in the books that came before. Usually, the characters finally get their happily ever afters, and while I may be left with a few questions, the majority of the loose ends are tied up.

This is where The Gatekeeper's Daughter has left me now. I'm still wondering about a few things (like how the episode involving Ares and Atlas may or may not lead to what the Fates described to Therese and Than), but overall I'm happy with where all of the characters have ended up. I don't think that anything should be regretted, and, at least for the time being, there doesn't seem to be any immediate threats looming in anyone's future. While I feel like there are still a few places that this series could go (specifically more on the outcome of Hip's new relationship), I've been left with nothing so pressing that I feel any need to barge fully armed into Eva Pohler's living room. For now.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. There were quite a few moments when I started chuckling because of something that a character said that just nailed their personality for me. There are always those small moments that just feel so right that I can't help but react. The family mechanics of the Greek gods are always interesting to me, considering how someone's always getting married to an extended cousin, sometimes a sibling. You just never know with them.

Of the new characters, Dione was like freaking Wonder Woman, always swooping in to save the day. She was great, and her whole "don't screw with your mother-in-law" act was fantastic and always made me smile. Courtney, I felt, could have been developed a little more. I really didn't end up knowing that much about her as a person aside from her relationship with the Holts. But I was really glad that the issue between Jen and her father was addressed, albeit briefly. Child abuse is a big and scary topic to tackle, and I just feel like it wouldn't have been right to leave that one hanging.

Rating: 4 stars

 

The Giveaway

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The Tour

May 1 - Introduction at Reading Addiction Blog Tours
May 2 - Interview at Laurie's Thoughts and Reviews

May 6 - Promo at Mythical Books

May 8 - Review & Guest Post at Book Lovers Report

May 9 - Review at Into The Wormhole

May 13 - Guest Post at Paulette's Papers

May 14 - Guest Post at Buffy's Ramblings

May 15 - Review & Guest Post at The Avid Reader

May 16 - Review at Getting Your Read On

May 17 - Guest Post at Sitting With a Book

May 20 - Review at My Cozie Corner

May 21 - Promo at Bunny's Reviews

May 22 - Review at Marked By Books

May 23 - Guest Post at Books and Tales

May 24 - Review at Hooked in a Book

May 25 - Guest Post at Wintry Words

May 26 - Review at Books, Books, and More Books

May 27 - Review & Interview at Addicted Readers

May 28 - Review at Books and Needlepoint

May 29 - Review & Interview at Pixie Dust Reviews

May 30 - Interview at Lisa's Book Lair

May 31 - Review at RABT Reviews

A copy of the novel was provided for us in exchange for an honest review.