I just finished the first part of the trilogy and oh boy I have some feelings.
Overall, the story was well-done, but it l do feel like it kind of got stuck into exposition mode. The first 150 pages, I was definitely enjoying myself and the references to the ‘original timeline’ were nice, but I felt like it spent too much time dwelling on the start and what exactly was different in the universe.
Also, I know this book should be accessible to people who haven’t seen the show, but it was like reading the beginning of a Harry Potter book. If you’re a fan it is kind of boring, but you can’t skip it, because some important stuff happens.
Spoilers (for this 15-year-old book coming now)
Whereas, the remainder of the story (about the last 150 pages) was incredible. The story was chilling and exciting at the same time. The characters and their motivations felt realistic and the dialogue was on point. Anya, in particularly, was well-written. I like that she has been dipping into pop culture and exploring that human side of her.
I was unsure how Tara was going to be brought back and how she would interact with Willow and the Scoobies, but I think it was all right. This is a bit of an issue I have with the show as well as the book, but I felt like Tara’s death was not properly dealt with in regards to all the characters except Willow. Like I didn’t want them to cry about it for 20 episodes, but I felt the stages of grief were just kind of skipped. I did think that Buffy’s response to seeing Tara’s ghost captured Buffy’s grief. I hope the second book explores this further. I would like to see Dawn (even though she does know better) want Willow to succeed in bringing Tara back, a small monologue would be enough for me.
I loved the coven and how evil they turned. I hope we get to see more of them in the future. I think there could be some interesting stories there, but I doubt it.
Anya’s experiences with the monster whose name I forgot, were terrifying. I actually thought that she was going to die for a while there. Though, I wonder why it was necessary to make her and Xander a thing again. It just feels odd for me.
There were more things that I liked than disliked and I definitely want to continue with the trilogy. I might not read it right after this, but I will pick it up soon and will definitely share my thoughts in this thread
A strong 3.5 or even a 4 out of 5 stars