Review: Running Wilde by Jenn Stark (Immortal Vegas #9)

Running Wilde (Immortal Vegas #9)
Jenn Stark
Published: Dec. 27, 2017 (Elewyn Publishing)
Purchase: Amazon
Review source: copy provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review

Reviewed by: Amy

Rating (out of 5): 5 stars

Note: While this review will be spoiler free, it will reference previous books. If you haven’t started this series yet, check out VBC’s review of book 1, Getting Wilde.

After having successfully assembled the other leaders of the Houses as well as members of the Council and other Connecteds to close a potential tear from opening in the veil and unleashing angry gods upon the Earth, Sara Wilde is on the run having made Interpol’s Most Wanted List.

Now, she’s got to keep looking over her shoulder as the war on magic looms ever closer. With a job from the Devil, Sara comes across some magical artifacts that would put her in opposition with The Magician as they would upset the hard won balance he tries to keep between light and dark magic, but the artifacts could prove a turning point in the upcoming war. As she learns more about wielding her exponential powers, Sara will discover truths about herself and those around her that will change things forever.

I feel like I’m anxiously awaiting as the series inches ever-so-closer to finally having the war on magic rear its ugly head, so some might view the fact that Running Wilde continues to pull readers along on yet another side-adventure as a negative, but not me.

Instead, I applaud Jenn Stark, yet again, for how she makes connections from the past in the present, and how those connections fill in blanks to the story that I didn’t even know I needed filled in until after the fact.

Something that has been somewhat stressed throughout the series has been the maintaining of balance between light and dark magic. At least that is The Magician’s main stance, not wanting to skew things more one way or another. Essentially, it’s the imbalance of everything that will allow the war on magic to come to fruition. Running Wilde deals with this topic headlong, more so than its predecessors.

Running Wilde deals a lot with dualities. Not just the light and dark of magic, but the light and dark aspects within ourselves. How siphoning off those sides from each other can almost do more damage than when they’re connected as one, as truly balanced.

I loved that we get more in-depth knowledge about some of my favorite Council members, most notably Death and The Fool who have always seemingly been on Sara’s side. What we learn makes me want to go back and reread their previous incantations within the series to see if any hints are given about where things end up in Running Wilde.

Probably my favorite thing to come out of Running Wilde was the certainty readers get in regards to the relationship between Sara and The Magician. Where Call of the Wilde was subtler (yet for me still packed a punch), Running Wilde does not beat around the bush in finally giving readers what they’ve been waiting so long for. Even with the somewhat precariousness of the ending and with what’s to come, I feel confident with the course set before them.

Tying up quite a few loose threads, Running Wilde perfectly melded past conflicts with present ones in order to give the characters room to grow and move forward, so much so that it felt like a turning point in the series. With what we and the characters learn, I’m excited to see how this newfound knowledge (and for some—power) is used as we inch ever so closer to that ultimate showdown.

Sexual content: sex