Coming February 14, 2012

First Thoughts:

Now that I’ve taken a few moments to pull myself together I can finally write this review…there was a moment where I had to stop reading and grab a tissue, I seriously couldn’t believe I found myself crying for a fictional character, but there I was blubbering like an idiot crying over something as trivial as a book but I guess some books can do that to you and it’s such a new and interesting experience.

This book was so much different than “The Iron Thorn”, for one it definitely was more emotional, so much happened good and bad. There was literally so much going on in this book, there really wasn’t a slow moment and when there was it wasn’t what you and I would consider slow, it was more of okay let me just think for a moment about it and poof! You’re on to the next scene. I guess books like this one take an avid reader; I literally found myself re-reading scenes because I couldn’t take in all the information. The concept of the story is very complex in this book it took it to another level, I found myself brought to whole new concepts, it took me awhile to accept, I mean it almost contradicted all the ideas I had of things and forced me to see it a different way; I liked it! As for the characters themselves, I definitely saw transformations of them, especially Conrad, I didn’t think I’d see the day where he would become this whole new character and as for Dean he changed in a way that wasn’t noticeably different but there was some tweaking going on there. As for Aoife she did change, like I mean a lot and at times I did kind of find her annoying in the end I fell in love with her personality all over again. You have to be a strong person to go through all she does, and as always the characters were lively; a bit too realistic, kind of freaked me out. The feel of the book was darker than the first book if that’s even possible. As for the plot it was well played out, I thought the author did a great job at creating all the elements required to make a satisfying novel, and though there is going to be another book in the series she has a way with ending the book to where you’re satisfied for all that happened in that book; you’re definitely left with questions but at least they are ones that can wait to be answered. The writing style is just as beautiful as always, she has a way of describing ugly things and making them awesome to read. As for the description in the book it was definitely detailed, she didn’t leave a scene unpainted but though I found it at times a little overwhelming I ended up enjoying it in the end. This book will definitely leave you stunned by the end at least that’s how I found it to be by the last word.

Goodreads summary:

Everything Aoife thought she knew about the world was a lie. There is no Necrovirus. And Aoife isn't going to succumb to madness because of a latent strain—she will lose her faculties because she is allergic to iron. Aoife isn't human. She is a changeling—half human and half from the land of Thorn. And time is running out for her.

When Aoife destroyed the Lovecraft engine she released the monsters from the Thorn Lands into the Iron Lands and now she must find a way to seal the gates and reverse the destruction she's ravaged on the world that's about to poison her.

Last Thoughts:

I would recommend this to people who enjoyed the first one, you’ll definitely learn more about the characters themselves and ideas in this book and I’ll rest assure you that you’ll want to know the ending to this one. I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoys fantasy and dystopian type stories; it definitely deals a lot in those genres. I would also recommend this to anyone who is a lover of books that mess with your mind; it definitely digs deep into the subconscious. I wouldn’t recommend this if you don’t like to read detailed writing and don’t enjoy having to actively read the entire book but it’s so worth it when you put forth the effort. And though I found the beginning lacking spark it did pick up later on. I’m still reeling from this book and as far as stories go I’d give it 4 stars, it did have potential to be 5 if only I could have grasped onto some of the ideas better…but I can’t wait for this story to continue, it’s definitely one I’ll keep an eye out for.