4 STARS"Now are we ready to hunt some ghosts?" he asked us like the douchiest substitute teacher, trying to sound commanding and relatable at the same time."Fuck you," I said.Dex has always been a puzzling character for me. I was easily sold on Perry but Declan and I had some tough times behind us. And while Hot and Crispy Dex is actually Hot AND Extra Crispy, he started to concern me as a narrator in And With Madness Comes The Light. Because while he was a brilliant revelation in The Dex-Files, he started to sound stuck as a character in Madness. I still believe he can single-handedly end world hunger (and maybe save the whales) should his entertainment value be converted to gold bars but the day may come when I'd grow tired of the crafty Max nicknames, when the sexual innuendoes will only illicit a giggle and when the chauvinistic one-liners will cross a line and become offensive. Hmm... after this, I'm actually starting to think that there's no such day.Because I realized, when it comes to Dex, I haven't drawn the line… or maybe there's just no line at all. (I found his allusion to baby deer sex funny. What the hell is wrong with me?!)Because this day, I spent: (after thoroughly raping the Safari refresh button waiting for this one) ✔ Laughing inappropriately loud✔ Crazy smiling as Dex asks Perry out on a date.✔ Dreading having my heart broken the Seattle bits was good stretch, an odd mix of joy and foreboding because you know it's going to hurt somewhere, sometime.✔ Having my heart broken✔ Having the pieces welded back againI am a Perry Palomino fangirl first and foremost and I'm glad that despite Dex's overwhelming presence whenever his thoughts take the spotlight, Perry voice wasn't drowned out of the picture. It's easy to get lost in all the Dexisms and diminish Perry into a mere blushing recipient of Dex's passionate devotion. I'm glad she wasn't. Though I am eagerly awaiting the return to her POV for the next book, because she was here but still a little peripheral for my Perry-loving tastes.I like how their relationship seems to come in full circle with this one. How this felt in complete symmetry with On Demon Wings and how this series refuses to let my interest wane even if Dex's professions and transformation should have been jump the shark moments. Because it was the chase, the unresolved sexual tension between these two characters that fueled EIT thus far. It's good to know that when you resolve the tension, the Dex-Perry dynamic still works. And boy did they do a lot of resolving interspersed with well-paced angst.I still felt like what I had in my hands could slip through my fingers at any moment, and what I thought I might have in the end could turn out to be nothing at all.It's good to see the paranormal investigations continue to ante up. I wasn't a big Sasquatch fan but voodoo and swamp is right in the holy-sh*t-that's-sick-creepy alley. The Kanye helped and the Tarantino homage was delightful (even if it was at Dex's expense).And as someone who gets easily tired of waiting for the next books in a series then getting so little pay-off, I appreciate the progress this made in the bigger story arc of The Thin Veil. It's nice to see the pieces starting to shift and make sense. I thoroughly enjoyed this installment but there were things that I was waiting to happen but didn't come, leaving me a bit wanting. I don't mean to beat a dead horse whore and excuse me for the big Perry flag I'm waving all over, but Dex did fall in love with Perry while he was still with Jenn, who may be a shitty girlfriend but was his shitty girlfriend for 3 years. I hope this comes up once we shift back to Perry's POV because I was a little bothered that Dex just saw Perry's reaction to the Ambrosia issue as a byproduct of her self-esteem issues. Couldn't it be that and your old cheating ways, Declan? Wouldn't that entitle Perry a drop of doubt? I know he can be a self-centered ass, but this was one time I wanted to smack some well-placed sensitivity into Dex.The Max and Rose side story didn't bring it for me. There was a serious lack of chemistry between the two. I loved Max here but Rose kind of fizzled out as the story went on. Considering the hefty role she played in this one, I couldn't bring myself to feel anything for this character nor have any urges to know what becomes of her and Max's past and future.Terribly missed Ada and her little fifteen-isms here so I'm looking forward to seeing her come Winter 2013.Final thoughts✶ Lou Bega should cut Karina a check. Seriously annoying earworm for my ENTIRE day.✶ Looking forward to Ashes to Ashes because holy ducklings is Dex Foray the antichrist?!✶ Karina Halle still owns the horcruxes of my soul. #naginiYou’ll just be missing a little tip.” “But the tip is the best part,” I groaned.
