The Final Eclipse

I love this series about a group of friends who fight evil in style.

It has taken a few years, but there is finally a conclusion to the Daughters of the Moon series, as well as closure for its tie-in, Sons of the Dark. In The Final Eclipse, Vanessa and Serena finally find a way to flee Nefandus, the world the Atrox has kept them captive in, but only Vanessa manages to succeed in doing so. The situation becomes more dire back in L.A. when Vanessa discovers that not only is the moon being eclipsed permanently, much to the joy of the Atrox and its Followers, but that her seventeenth birthday is fast approaching. Any dedicated fan knows that that's a crucial day for a Daughter of the Moon -- if Vanessa isn't able to save Serena and stop the final eclipse before then, she will have to make a choice about her destiny that could very well keep her from being able to. This book is definitely the darkest in the series in terms of plot and character development, but Ewing still manages to weave in enough humor and whimsy to appease her readers. There are even situations that mirror those from the first book, making it feel more full-circle and reminding us that it really is the end. Many dangling plot-points are answered, and even though a couple were never addressed, having them be would have just made the book too clunky. Readers will regularly find themselves elated, shocked, and saddened by the events in the book, leaving them wanting more, but in a good way. After living with these characters for thirteen books (seventeen if you include the spin-off), I find myself missing them like an old friend, unable to stop thinking about the final book no matter how much time passes. The Final Eclipse is a worthy end to an excellent series that any fan would be a fool to miss out on.

I really liked this book. And I'd like to be able to say that it was the best one so far, but truthfully, I stopped reading the series around book #7 (although I do now plan on going back and finishing them all) and decided to just skip to this last one. You see the thing is, even though I obviously like these books, I got a little tired of the ridiculous plotlines that took place between the first and last book. The daughters would get themselves into these impossibly hopeless situations, but they would end up being solved by the end of the book. The thing I love about these books though (and that made me very eager to see how it would all end) is that they are based on a very interesting greek myth, involving Selene the moon Goddess, and the fact that all the characters-Vanessa, Catty, Jimena, and Serena- are all actually very likeable (which doesn't happen often in a book) and they all have very unqiue personalities, not to mention awesome powers. (Vanessa has the power to turn invisible, Catty can time travel, Jimena gets preminitons, and Serena can read minds) So anyways, like I said, I really liked this book, and found it wasn't hard for me to follow along, even though I had skipped over a majority of the series. I think its because I feel I already know the characters pretty well, which is also what made this final book so sad. It was definitely a bittersweet ending for the daughters of the moon, and it was sad to see that all of them didn't make it, although I didn't expect that they would anyway. One of them does have a semi-happy ending though (don't worry, I'm not naming any names!) and another thing is that this book leaves you with a slight cliffhanger, which I think had to do with the fact that Jimena (who is now a mentor) was preparing for the new group of daughters, which just goes to show that although the atrox had finally been destroyed, there was obviously more evil leftover. So that being said, I hope the author decides to come out with a new Daughters of the Moon series (although no characters will ever be better than the original) and perhaps she will let us know what became of the remaining original daughters after the book ended!

I was glad she finally ended the series so we could find out what happened to the daughters and the sons of dark. I also like how she started and ended it with Vanessa. I was sad that the sons of dark died. I mean I didn't read their books but they didn't have to die. They mentioned Vanessa being the daughter of Pandora a few times actually, but I don't think Lynne Ewing wanted to focus on that, more or less she just wanted the Atrox to be destroyed, YAY! I'm actually really impressed with this book because I haven't read any daughters of the moon books in forever and I was surprised at how good this book turned out to be. So if you've read any of the book I think this is the best one to read.

THIS REIVEW WILL CONTAIN SLIGHT SPOILERS!!! So don't continue reading if you don't want me to ruin the ending for you. Ok with that said: I really enjoyed reading this series. I am sad that it is over because I wanted the series to keep on going. However I think Ewing finished off the series well. The ending is bitter sweet I suppose, since Vanessa and the others end up making choices that has them split apart. I did like the ending and it did leave you with a slight cliff hanger, like the first reviewer said. I think what Ewing was trying to convey was that evil would still be in the world and that's why other Daughters would be needed. Maybe that's why it ended the way it did, but I'm only guessing. There were a two loose ends that weren't made clear. Like the other review said, I don't remember the book mentioning that Vanessa was a Goddess of Pandora, maybe it was in the prologue but I don't exactly remember. Or perhaps that was just understood from book 7; I don't know. Also if anyone remembers book 10, Maggie's book. She was supposed to have a son that was going to play a role in their destiny. I remember reading that towards the end of book 10. However we didn't find out who that son was. We also find out what happened to the Sons of the Dark in this book, and why there is not a 5th one. I don't think Ewing really wanted that series to end, but I guess since it didn't sell well, she had to take care of them in some way. In conclusion, I was really satisfied with the series as a whole and loved every book in it. Ewing's writing is really compelling and keeps you wanting to read more. I think all the fans of this series will enjoy this book. I sure did! My favorite line is this book was when Stanton said "hoochi mama" lol that was funny! Perhaps now I should start on her Sisters of Isis Series. =)

I just got the book tonight and tore through the book in 2 hours, finishing about 15 min ago. The ending not quite happy but not entirely sad either. And the last paragraph leaves the ending as one of those "makes you wonder but its really the end" endings. You find out what happens to Kyle and the Sons of Dark. Put it this way, you'll see why there's no 5th book. Personally I'm sad I finished it so fast. I've been reading this series since I was about 15 and I'm 21 now. In spite of it being a teen book, I love this series and will miss anticipating new books. Her writing was always the exact inspiration I needed to write my own stories. In this final book, Lynne Ewing keeps her writing at the same top notch as the other 12 but as much as the ending ended on a happy note, I still felt sorry for Vanessa. If you've followed the series since Day 1, I dont have to tell you twice to get this book. And even for people getting into it, of all the teen books out there that repeat the same magical fantasy crap in different ways, this series is unique and will capture every emotion from you possible. One last note I'll say about the book that bugged me. For one, she forgot to tie up an end that happened toward the end of the book and juding by the last page it makes me wonder if she ever plans on coming back to it one day or she really did want to leave it hanging like that. And two...unless maybe I forgot from the previous books, why was there no mention at all about Vanessa being a Daughter of Pandora? As far as the series ending and her working on Sisters of Isis...to me two of those girls sound like distant versions of Vanessa and Catty from what I read of blurbs online. I probably would have preferred a sequal series of another generation of Daughters of The Moon and having that hanging part from Book 13 closed.