The Other Side of Truth (The Marked Ones Trilogy #3)
by Alicia Kat Vancil
Blurb:
Sometimes the truth is more dangerous than a lie.We all have secrets. Some we keep from others. And some we keep from ourselves. But when your life becomes nothing more than a lethal construct of secrets and lies, one false step could mean your death.
In the wake of overwhelming tragedy, Patrick, Travis, and Nualla are frantically trying to piece their lives back together. Unfortunately, there’s only so much super glue and duct tape you can paste onto something before you have to admit it might be beyond fixing. However, Travis is unwilling to just give up and accept the devastation of the family he has tried so desperately to patch together. But as he delves into the secrets of the past to uncover how his little brother became the most deadly weapon in the Kakodemoss’ arsenal, Travis begins to realize that there are some secrets better left unlearned.
A spectacular collision of unrelenting love, harrowing secrets, and heartbreaking realities. The Other Side of Truth, the final book in the Marked Ones Trilogy, rips the world of daemons wide open.
My Review:
I binge read this series over the past few weeks and I am so sad this series has ended. I really enjoyed this series and this one is probably my favourite book of the three. This book starts dealing with the consequences of what happened at the end of book 2, the characters are all going through a hard time and it’s hard to see them struggle. The problems are very real and I can understand why it took them a long time to solve things. There are a lot of revelations and hints about the guys who did the experiments and a lot of focus on is that, the plot evolves slowly and we learn more. There are also another new plot lines set up and it feels like this third book still adds a lot to the story. There’s facts about the pasts and things about characters that we learn in this book. There are some very emotional scenes and a lot of love next to the sorrow as well. I really enjoy the author her writing style and how she makes use of foreshadowing and slowly moving different plot lines along. There’s a lot going on, but it all fits neatly and I just wanted to keep reading as it was so well written.
I liked the ending and how things got wrapped up, but I did think the rescue attempt at the end was a bit too short, I think there was more potential in that scene. It seemed a bit too easy? I mean these are the evil guys they worked against the whole time and they never could do anything because they didn’t know the address, but for how horrible it was what happened there it seemed like it got solved a bit too easily. Then there are a few plot lines that don’t get tied up as neatly and some questions that remain unanswered. There was a mention of another series in this universe, so I am thinking that’s probably the reason not everything get wrapped up 100%. So I am curious to see what that series will entail, as I definitely haven’t had enough of this world yet. The epilogue was pretty sweet and I am happy so many characters got a happy ending.
There’s a lot still to learn about the characters and with what they go through in this book, it feels like a lot of characters change or we learn new things about them. Nualla struggles with her father not being there and trying to fit into the chancellor role. Patrick struggles with what happened in the previous book and he misses Nualla, but he doesn’t know how to face her after what he did. He also learns more about Aku and I liked how that part got resolved, although I did feel a bit sorry for Aku and Kira. Then Travis is struggling with letting go of this love for Nualla and instead building a relationship with Parker, but he kinda makes a lot of mistakes on the way. The story focussed more on Patrick and Travis in this book and less so on Nualla, but it really worked and I like how the multiple point of views got handled.
The love triangle basically disappears in this book and the other love interest for Travis that got hinted at in the previous books, plays a bigger part here. I did like Travis and Parker together, but I do wish there would’ve been a bit more scenes with them doing normal things and getting to know each other. Nevertheless it was really done well and I did like their romance. Nualla and Patrick their romance get’s less attention in this book, but there was an awesome scene involving them towards the end.
In this book we learn much more about the past of some characters, the daemons and the experiments that got done. The reason behind the experiments, how it got set up and what the goal was, we also see more of what they achieved and what it really did to Patricks, Kira and Chan-rin. This book definitely adds a lot in terms of world building and I liked how with each book we learn more and know more about this world. Although there are still some questions remaining, I think the world building is done well. very interwoven into the story, with little pieces of info we get with each book.
To summarize: I really enjoyed this series and this book is probably my favourite of the three. it’s very well written and the pace flows nicely. there are revelations and new info that comes to light and the multiple plot points steadily progress. There’s a lot going on, but somehow the author manages to deal with all the topics without it becoming overwhelming. The ending felt a bit too easy and some questions remain, but there is hinted at another series that will be written and will take place in this universe, so I am excited about that and hope it ties up some of the lose ends. There’s a lot of character change and things we learn about them and the past in this book. The love triangle get’s resolved and there’s a lot of focus on Travis and Parker in this book. there are also some pieces of world building added. All in all this was a great ending to the trilogy and I am so happy that there will be more stories taking place in this world.
Links:
– Goodreads
– Amazon
– B&N
– Kobo
Other books I read and reviewed by this author:
– Alicia Kat Vancil – Daemons in the Mist (The Marked Ones #1) – 4 stars
– Alicia Kat Vancil – The Storm Behind Your Eyes (The Marked Ones #2) – 4 stars
Oh yes, I remember now, it was you who made me add this series to my list ! I’m glad to see it keeps going strong, some series start beautifully and then… Great review, Lola 🙂
There are so many series that start great and then get less so, so I was really happy with how this series ended. Definitely keep goign strong and everything ties neatly together and get’s wrapped up, while still leaving room for a spinn-off series.
That cover is rather eye-catching.
I would rather binge on the entire series.
Angela @Simply Angela recently posted…Waiting on Wednesday {11}: Fangs For The Memories by Molly Harper
I agree, the covers for this series are done well! It’s nice being able to binge read a series, especially as I usually read a lot of new releases and have to wait on the next book.
Lola recently posted…Review: The Other Side of Truth by Alicia Kat Vancil
Girl, there is just so much going on in this it’s SO not funny. The love triangles and all that but I love the fact that it DOES have so much going on because that means you won’t get bored with the reading and stuff. I’m so glad you enjoyed this one girl and it sounded like to really kept you on your toes!
It’s not a real love triangle, but it was there in the second book and I am glad it got resolved nicely in this one. I love how there is so much going on, but it never get’s confusing, it’s very well written.
I like how you describe this last as your favorite and that the author tied up everything. Glad the love triangle wasn’t drawn out longer than necessary and people got happy endings.
I’ve read a few where the ending feels rushed b/c the struggle from the whole series suddenly got easy.
And that is always good news when you finish a favorite series that there will be more. 😉
I do binge read though its hard to find the time for as much as I’d like. I’ve been binging on a steampunk series at the moment to get caught up and I’ve binged on anthologies when I had them for review.
Sophia Rose recently posted…Bonded by Laura Wright #Review
I wasn’t a fan of the love triangle in book 2, but seeing how it got wrapped here I thought it was well done. The whole book build up towards that ending and I just thought it could’ve been a bit longer to really get everything out of it.
I am definitely looking forward to read whatever this author writes next. I already read the first book in her other series as well and enjoyed that one as well.
I don’t binge read series as much as I used to, it seems I am reading so many new releases and not often enough start a series where more books are already are releases. It really is a joy to find a series like this one or not Burying Water and knowing that the next few books are released already. I should start older series more often.
Lola recently posted…Review: The Other Side of Truth by Alicia Kat Vancil
I don’t binge read much because I have several series that I’ve been reading for a long time. If I happen to find a series that has all the books out and I like the first one I might read the rest.
Mary Kirkland recently posted…Review: Dead Ice by Laurell K Hamilton
I don’t binge read series as often either, I used to binge read series when I just found some new genres I read and I binged quite a few series. Nowadays I read so many new releases I don’t make time enough to discover already released series. It was a lot of fun to discover this series and then read the whole series in a row.
It sounds good overall. However I want the characters to ‘work it” resolution wise. You can build something up and make it huge and give it an easy or quick solution. It appears as if they made a big deal over nothing, if you know what I mean. It’s great though that despite that you still enjoyed it. That’s what’s important 🙂
Braine Talk Supe recently posted…Loved It: Blade Dance by D.L. McDermott
It wasn’t that they didn’t have to work for the resolution, but more like there was a bit more potential in that scene. And lots of things happened because of the bad guys and they did pretty horrible things, so it felt like they would needed an even bigger battle to win? It’s hard to explain without spoiling anything. It wasn’t like the solution was quick or easy, but more like I thought it could’ve used a bit more.
Lola recently posted…Lola’s Ramblings: What do you like to see on a cover?