4 stars

I have to say, I wasn't expecting to be bored in the slightest while reading a EIT book. Ever.

However, I had a bit of a rough start with "Come Alive". It was nothing but sex and Dex being freakishly sentimental for about 25% of the story.

Until New Orleans.

In the other books, I longed for more romance. I craved it over the central mystery.

But in "Come Alive", I wanted nothing more than to be swept away by the horror.

And once it got really interesting, I was glued to the screen. I literally couldn't move. I read non-stop. Those last 30% put a spell on me and wouldn't let go. I only tore my eyes away for brief instants as I glanced around the room, looking for the looming, cold presence I thought I sensed behind my back.

Dex and Perry are (finally) together. And in full-on honeymoon phase. Which got annoying after a while, especially since Dex was acting like a horny bastard and Perry was just too damn insecure and shy.

I needed a distraction. They needed a distraction. And fast.

And that's when Maximus came into the picture. He made for a few good laughs as the inevitable pissing contest took place between him and Dex. But he also came accompanied by an ultimatum: either Dex and Perry accept him as his manager and newest member of the team, or Jimmy will cancel their show.

So, the fantastic threesome heads on to the voodoo city, hoping to film a haunted house damaged by Katrina and leave with some decent footage to present to their boss. The thing is, the city has been under attack from creatures similar to zombies, seemingly created and controlled by evil voodoo priestesses. And, obviously, they can't stay away.

I'll give you a fair warning: if you think that Perry and Dex are completely in sync already and that the angst is gone, you'll be surprised. And I mean mind-blown. As I was. Damn, the feels.

And Maximus. I totally saw that one coming, ginger balls.

I think I have forgiven him at last. He actually turned out to be a decent person during this installment. I wasn't expecting it, but I warmed up to him.

So, if you're ready for the inevitable heebie jeebies and emotion-overload that come with EIT, then by all means, read it!

4 stars

Dex's mind wide open once more?

Knee-buckling feels? Check.

Self-pity and suffering? Check.

Undying love? Check.

Supernaturally good jokes? Check.

I would've given it a higher rating, hadn't it been for the repetition of scenes I had already read in "On Demon Wings" and "The Dex-Files". If I had tackled "And With Madness Comes the Light" later on, I probably wouldn't mind, but as of now it felt a little redundant.

Now gimme more Dex!

4,5 stars

I surrender. I give up.

I tried so hard to slow down, to savor this series book by book. But I am so going to devour it.

Two months ago, I read five Experiment in Terror books and three novellas in about a week. Then I stopped. My rebound was a bit hard to go through, but I eventually recovered and the urge to read the entire series in one sitting vanished. Or so I thought.

Returning to EIT felt like a dream come true. Perry, Dex and Ada welcomed me with open arms. Perry shared her inner thoughts with me, Dex revealed a whole lot more than usual, and Ada said her goodbyes for the time being.

The premise sounded just amazing. Perry moves in with Dex? They venture into the confines of British Columbia together to find the legendary Sasquatch? I could smell the tension from miles (pages) away. I couldn't wait to witness their reconnection, the apologies they would share, the heartbreaking moments they would star in.

I braced myself for the angst. But I wasn't prepared for what "Into the Hollow" threw at me. Not by a long-shot. I didn't expect to feel the tears prickling my skin as I read, to hear my uninhibited laughter filling the room, to hurt as much as Perry and Dex did.

By now, I am aware that Karina Halle will keep awakening these feelings in me through her soulful writing, will continue to enthrall me with every word, will make me shut the world out as I drink in her words like water.

I strongly recommend this brand of water. However, keep in mind that it won't quench your thirst, but turn you into a helpless, thirsty addict.

I honestly don't know what I'll do when I finish EIT. Maybe I'll find a new brand of water to distract me from the one I lost. Maybe.

A book with little to no Dex in it?

4 stars

I am so emotionally crippled by what Perry went through during this book that I can't seem to process it correctly.

Meet "On Demon Wings" Perry:

Yes, she's slightly possessed. As it turns out, the demons which have chased her during her whole life are back to torment her. And each day she falls a little bit more into the depths of her mind, losing control over her body and handing it to another entity.

The only person who should be able to rescue her from her downfall (Dex, of course) is the one she is trying to forget after he rejected her in the end of "Lying Season".

Perry is surrounded by disbelievers who will not hesitate to deem her insane and abandon her to her demons. I am referring to her crappy parents.

Not you, Ada. Without your support and concern, I don't know what would have happened to your sister.

While reading this book, try not to panic. It is probably the most scary of the series so far, because it depicts a mental sickness so vicious that you fear you will lose beloved Perry for good.

3,5 stars

This is the story of Pippa Lindstrom, Dex's old nanny and Perry's grandmother.

Since her chilhood in an overly religious family to the time she spent in Stockholm, pursuing her dream of becoming an actress - where she met her only love (Ludie) and her husband (Karl), to her stone-cold daughter Ingrid, who made her mother move to New York because of her modelling career. Then there's the painstakingly damaged O'Shea family, plagued by drunken Régine, and little Declan, the least favourite son, the constant focus of his mother's destructive behaviour.

Pippa ended up incapable of living a normal life, disturbed by the astronomical amount of ghosts and demons harassing her, until she was put in a mental institution for the last ten years of her life, thanks to a daughter who always hated and misunderstood her.

I liked the notion that Dex and Perry were always destined to find each other. Only when two people with their abilities share a life is it possible to prevent their downfall into utter madness. Their hearts are magnets. But Pippa didn't have anyone, and the otherworld prevailed.