This is the 2nd edition of the book I read years ago when starting out as a licensed officiant. The major changes are in the language. Ms. Johnson has made it more inclusive which is nice. Glad to own this.

3.5 stars, maybe 3.75. I liked this even though i t wasn't what I was expecting. We get multiple point of views with alternating chapters. Meaning we get a chapter or two of Pheobe, then 1-2 if Diana, then 1-2 from Marcus. I thought this was going to be a straightforward Marcus biography of sorts it wasn't. I was not liking that at first but I adjusted.

I, as always, loved the historical parts. I also enjoyed seeing the birth of a vampire so to speak. And I also enjoyed seeing how Diana's kids are doing. We get a look at a lot of the other secondary characters which is like visiting old friend D's and catching up.

What I was somewhat disappointed by was how little we delved into the problem times of Marcus' life as a vampire. They seem glossed over. His time with Veronique and in New Orleans is very quickly covered compared to his human life. I was somewhat modified by the last chapter which seemed to imply this was done on purpose. So Marcus' human life had a bigger influence maybe. That made me bump my rating up a bit as I don't feel so bitter anymore. But honestly, it may be that those times did have a huge influence on Marcus but they were not a big deal on the whole as far as vampire society is concerned. I don't know.

Overall, I think Harness did a better job balancing the historical, romantic and paranormal elements than in the All Souls trilogy but its still a bit awkward. Some parts get more attention to detail so seem grounded in reality then others melodramatic.

Tyber's plan is revealed and we see the Wings of Freedom again. Not gonna lie I am ecstatic to see the guys from Paradis again.

I was happy to finally see Sam's book but felt vaguely uneasy about the actual relationship once it got started. I'll have to think on it. Azami's (Thorn's) character seems very cliche and maybe even worse. I liked her but didn't. I might be speaking from a general time of irritation, lack of sleep and a reading slump because I stopped about halfway through this due to all of the above. I enjoyed the overall plot, the action sequences and didn't mind the sex scenes. Their talk during the first one I thought was really well written. But the tea, the whole I'll not show any affection and a few other things made her seem more like a caricature of what Americans think of Japanese women. I'm also a bit confused by the teleportation. Are they teleporting or are they just moving really fast and calling it that?

I liked this better than the Disney version, which I rewatched right after finishing this. I like how its written like someone is telling us the story. The narration gives it an extra dreamy element even with all the sarcasm. Ugh, I cried at the last chapter, When Wendy Grows Up. Even though I know it already some tears were spilt.

I loved this! Its cute and ridiculous. I was amused for 98% of this. Lucy is absolutely ridiculous and I was routing for Josh throughout the first 1/2 of the book. That being said I can see some of myself in Lucy though I'm the type to freeze and say nothing when panicked. She was just so entertaining. This would make a great romantic comedy or hallmark movie. Josh comes off as a regular guy which I like. I didn't find anything bad about him which may be because there was more telling than showing of his attitude with their coworkers. He must really love Lucy cause he had the patience of a saint with all these juvenile games and her cluelessness. Hence why I'm team Josh. I wasn't expecting to enjoy this so much but I did. Glad I read it.

This was nothing I was expecting. Why do I feel like there's a piece of the puzzle still missing?

Listened to the audio book this time. It was original American full dramatisation aired on NPR. This was shorter than I remembered. When reading these as a teenager, Tolkien's need to describe every damned thing in detail made it seem so much longer. The audio book may have cut some of that down since it was only 3.5 hours long. But I looked at my physical copy and its not a tome. Anyway, it was nice to get some of that detail back in my memory after all these years and the movies. That's the reason I decided to pick it up again.

With regards to the audio, I'm not a huge fan of some of the voices. Several sound too similar to each other despite being different actors (I checked). Frodo sounds emotionless even at very exciting, emotional and life threatening moments. And Sam sounds super young which kept throwing me off. Otherwise it was well done and wonderfully acted.