Why must this book end?

I thought I had more pages before the end and they turned out to be adds for other books.

I need book three now so I know what's going to happen. Because Crimson Wind ends on a cliff hanger!! ( )

She knows the PNW and named even the small towns correctly. Very cool second book and can't wait for the next one, though that's probably a year out. ( )

Almost abandoned -- just wasn't loving it at the beginning. Glad I stuck with it! ( )

Grade: F for Epic Fail!

The flaws in [b:Bitter Night|6379951|Bitter Night (Horngate Witches, #1)|Diana Pharaoh Francis|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255629975s/6379951.jpg|6567837] I accepted due to being the first in the series with sequels usually surpassing the first. [b:Crimson Wind|7832141|Crimson Wind (Horngate Witches, #2)|Diana Pharaoh Francis|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1274756782s/7832141.jpg|10898614] doesn’t follow this pattern. No, it goes the other way. It may be unfair to make this judgement after only 74 pages but I don’t think so.

Characters: Max is a tough bitch, an Uber-Alpha. It’s over the top. Alexander is also supposedly Alpha but um, he’s a bit wet and dull. We didn’t need his POV, it only served to add pages where none were required. Giselle is presented as the powerful witch presiding over the group when in fact she is Beta to Max’s Alpha, which is confusing considering their history as torturer and victim. The characters are misrepresented, under-developed and unappealing though the cast is a large one so there’s little time to get to know them all individually.

Romance: Forced. Max is reluctant to be with Alexander...because he’s a stalker. He worships the ground she walks on. She doesn’t say or think this. It’s my opinion of him. We’re told they have this hot sexual tension between them when there’s no evidence of that. There’s more chemistry between her and warrior angel, Tutresiel. Their witty banter was the only element I enjoyed which covered a very tiny percentage of the book.

Plot: To find, save and bring Max’s family back to Horngate.
Procrastination. By the time I gave up, Max hadn’t made it out of Horngate for this mission. She wasn’t even prepared to leave yet and I was almost 25% in. What took place in this time wasn't very interesting to me. It was just a lot of foreboding nonsense. However, I was intrigued by the fact that Max hadn't interacted with her family in 30 years which threw me. I was curious as to how Francis was going to make that work.

World-building: I was unconvinced by the world created in [b:Bitter Night|6379951|Bitter Night (Horngate Witches, #1)|Diana Pharaoh Francis|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255629975s/6379951.jpg|6567837] and wasn’t reassured in this one. It’s too easy to poke holes in it. There‘s a melding of mythologies that doesn’t quite work. The angels seem out of place. It’s a closed world where everything supernatural is a secret from the main population. However, Armageddon has now been unleashed on the world but we’ve yet to see the effect it has had outside of Horngate. Perhaps if I had read on this would’ve been rectified. On the whole, there are just too many questions and not enough answers.

I’m not curious to learn more. ( )

I think Francis somehow invaded my dreams or something and wrote an urban fantasy series just for me. This has everything I look for in UF: Very strong and intelligent female protagonist, equally strong and intelligent male love interest, a peril laden plot, lots of almost dying, the female saving the male as often as the other way around, the male strong and deadly but completely tender and gentle with the female and loyal to her to a point of recklessness, the man wants her even more than she wants him but he waits and doesn't force or push, and of course lots and lots of action, action, action. There are a few erotic scenes but they never get very far. I like the suspense with that although she takes it a little further than I would like. I like that we're seeing more of Max's personality and thus why her team is so loyal to her. Her kindness feels a little off but it's good that we see it.

The only thing I don't like in the series that she always ends with a cliffhanger.

Other than that there was only one problem that confused me and if anyone has the answer, please let me know: (big spoiler)

Why are her father and brother aging so much when witches live forever?

Highly recommended if your tastes are anything like mine.
( )