Death’s Despair
Kassidy Simmons, Book 3
Urban Fantasy
Date Published: June 6, 2023
Publisher: Acorn Publishing
Born to a family of witches, Traci Leeds has always been connected to magic. A direct descendant of the goddess of witchcraft, she was destined to succeed her mother as leader of her coven. Her powers were dormant until trauma resulting from being kidnapped activated her abilities. Dissatisfied with their development Traci tapped into magic forbidden by those in her line.
Kassidy Simmons, the Death God, continues her quest to return lost souls to their proper place in the afterlife. She and her Reapers are charged with maintaining harmony between life and death, but a recent decision to resurrect a soul has shifted that balance. A rising blood moon and supernatural occurrences involving witchcraft send Kassidy on a journey to the steps of the Underworld where she learns of the darkness surrounding Traci’s decision to tap into forbidden magic..
With an ancient prophecy looming and nightmarish visions of the apocalypse haunting her waking mind, Kassidy must rise up and withstand the fury of a Titan to save all she holds dear.
Julie’s Review
Thanks to RABT Book Tours for the chance to read this book.
I didn’t realize this wasn’t a first in the series when I first started reading. Now that I am putting things together, I see this is actually book 3. I wonder what happened in the first two books. I will say the writing does a good job of world-building so I didn’t feel thrown into the middle of a series. But still, something felt missing to fully introduce me to all the characters, which now makes more sense. It is difficult to get the balance between re-repeating the character back stories in each book for those reading from the beginning of the story, but to have enough information newbies mid-series can feel caught up.
I enjoy a reaper story, and our main character being on a mission to help find the lost souls she accidentally caused, and to help them cross over, is a very good mission. I also like Kassidy’s powers, but am curious to learn more about her back story. Will it be required for me to read the first book to get to know her better? She seems quite cool and kick-ass but I also feel like I’m still missing something about her
Traci, I don’t know what to make of. She made a deal that is coming due, and the internal battle between herself and the ancient goddess is fascinating. I get why she did the things she did with the way her mom and coven treat her. But I also find her extremely annoying with all the lies and deception. And really, she keeps asking “how did I get here?” whenever she wakes up as herself, but she knows exactly what is going on and why she loses control of her body.
I struggle with books that switch POV so much. It feels like I just get in step and am vibing with a character, and now we have a new character and voice. And there are quite a few characters and POV changes here. It gets complicated when it switches too much, but it also works well to give us each side of the story the main narrator wouldn’t be able to share.
Overall the plot develops slowly and jaggedly until the final battle. Then, it ends in a cliffhanger, of which I’m not a fan. I can’t say it was the most exciting or enjoyable read, but I did generally like it.
About the Author
Dennis K. Crosby is the award-winning author of the Amazon bestselling
urban fantasies, Death’s Legacy and Death’s Debt. With a degree in criminal justice, he spent six years working as a private investigator.
His love of learning about people led him to pursue a master’s degree in forensic psychology. A staunch mental health reform advocate, he has worked in social service for over a decade, promoting social justice and efforts to combat homelessness. Dennis completed an MFA program at National University, and since the release of his first novel, he has served as a speaker at the Southern California Writers’ Conference and as a panelist at Comic-Con and the Fox Cities Book Festival. He’s been a
guest on a number of podcasts and has published seven short stories in various anthologies. Death’s Despair is book three in the Kassidy Simmons series. A self-proclaimed geek, the bourbon-loving Chicago Cubs fan and deep-dish pizza connoisseur lives and writes in San Diego, CA.
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