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Skylark #2
Shadowlark
Ever since she escaped the city within the Wall, Lark Ainsley's wanted one thing: to find her brother Basil. She's always believed he would be the one to put an end to the constant fear and flight. And now, hidden underground in the chaotically magical city of Lethe, Lark feels closer to him than ever.
But Lethe is a city cowering in fear of its founder, the mysterious Prometheus, and of his private police force. To get the truth about what happened to Basil, Lark has no choice but to face Prometheus.
Facing her fears has become second nature to Lark. Facing the truth is another matter.
Lark never asked to be anyone's savior. She certainly never wanted to be anyone's weapon. She might not have a choice.
But Lethe is a city cowering in fear of its founder, the mysterious Prometheus, and of his private police force. To get the truth about what happened to Basil, Lark has no choice but to face Prometheus.
Facing her fears has become second nature to Lark. Facing the truth is another matter.
Lark never asked to be anyone's savior. She certainly never wanted to be anyone's weapon. She might not have a choice.
327 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2013
37 people are currently reading
4159 people want to read
About the author
Meagan Spooner
19 books3,448 followersNew York Times bestselling author Meagan Spooner grew up reading and writing every spare moment of the day, while dreaming about life as an archaeologist, a marine biologist, an astronaut. She graduated from Hamilton College in New York with a degree in playwriting, and has spent several years since then living in Australia. She's traveled with her family all over the world to places like Egypt, South Africa, the Arctic, Greece, Antarctica, and the Galapagos, and there's a bit of every trip in every story she writes.
She currently lives and writes in Asheville, North Carolina, but the siren call of travel is hard to resist, and there's no telling how long she'll stay there. She's the author of the award-winning Starbound trilogy (These Broken Stars, This Shattered World, Their Fractured Light) and the Skylark Trilogy (Skylark, Shadowlark, Lark Ascending) as well as the upcoming Beauty and the Beast retelling Hunted.
In her spare time she plays guitar, plays video games, plays with her cat, and reads.
She currently lives and writes in Asheville, North Carolina, but the siren call of travel is hard to resist, and there's no telling how long she'll stay there. She's the author of the award-winning Starbound trilogy (These Broken Stars, This Shattered World, Their Fractured Light) and the Skylark Trilogy (Skylark, Shadowlark, Lark Ascending) as well as the upcoming Beauty and the Beast retelling Hunted.
In her spare time she plays guitar, plays video games, plays with her cat, and reads.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 179 reviews
October 28, 2013
Spoilers
Yet another run-of-the-mill YA dystopian book. I wasn't a fan of the first book but for some bizarre reason I thought I'd give this one a chance. Sadly, it turned out to be a rubbish read.
-The world building was a mess, it was a mish-mash of nonsense. There was magic, steampunk, dystopia, and zombie-esque elements to it… And none of it meshed well together, it was just too much.
-A lot of the world building made me roll my eyes. There was the cliched isolated cities that were either underground or surrounded by walls. There was the typical bad things on the outside that everyone needed protected from (this time weird-zombie-cannibals). There was the usual evul guys in charge of doing bad things to everyone. Then there was the predictable secrets and conspiracies. Yea, there was very little originality to the world.
-The plot was dull, there were no exciting twists or turns. The heroine, Lark, was still searching for her beloved older brother (I'm sick of the heroine always focusing on the males in her family. She rarely thinks or cares about the females in her family. They're either non-existant or bitches), and she just so happened to find his journal in an underground city, and yea, stuff happened.
-Lark was so whiny and passive. I hate heroines like that, they let others control their actions or they leave things unsaid for no good reason just so that people can assume the worst. Like Oren (the love interest), when he was trying to reach out to her, she left things up in the air for no reason even though she wanted to be friends (despite his cannibal ways), and then when her inability to talk to him caused a rift, she whined about it. If she wanted to be friends with him then why didn't she say so? Why didn't she just tell him how she felt? Why couldn't she communicate simple things? It was so frustrating.
Also, I was sick of how many times she jumped to conclusions and made assumptions based on nothing.
-I still didn't understand what the hell Lark was… I knew she was a speshul snowflake but I didn't understand what her powers were all about. What was the point of them? Why and how did she get them? Why were they so speshul?
-Oren was a decent character, it was sweet how he stuck by Lark even though she acted like a cow and was giving him mixed messages. Nix, Olivia, Wesley and Basil were good characters too.
-It was so obvious that Basil would turn out to be Prometheus. How did none of the characters figure that out? All the signs were there.
All in all, I wasn't impressed. The whiny heroine and predictable plot let the story down.
Yet another run-of-the-mill YA dystopian book. I wasn't a fan of the first book but for some bizarre reason I thought I'd give this one a chance. Sadly, it turned out to be a rubbish read.
-The world building was a mess, it was a mish-mash of nonsense. There was magic, steampunk, dystopia, and zombie-esque elements to it… And none of it meshed well together, it was just too much.
-A lot of the world building made me roll my eyes. There was the cliched isolated cities that were either underground or surrounded by walls. There was the typical bad things on the outside that everyone needed protected from (this time weird-zombie-cannibals). There was the usual evul guys in charge of doing bad things to everyone. Then there was the predictable secrets and conspiracies. Yea, there was very little originality to the world.
-The plot was dull, there were no exciting twists or turns. The heroine, Lark, was still searching for her beloved older brother (I'm sick of the heroine always focusing on the males in her family. She rarely thinks or cares about the females in her family. They're either non-existant or bitches), and she just so happened to find his journal in an underground city, and yea, stuff happened.
-Lark was so whiny and passive. I hate heroines like that, they let others control their actions or they leave things unsaid for no good reason just so that people can assume the worst. Like Oren (the love interest), when he was trying to reach out to her, she left things up in the air for no reason even though she wanted to be friends (despite his cannibal ways), and then when her inability to talk to him caused a rift, she whined about it. If she wanted to be friends with him then why didn't she say so? Why didn't she just tell him how she felt? Why couldn't she communicate simple things? It was so frustrating.
Also, I was sick of how many times she jumped to conclusions and made assumptions based on nothing.
-I still didn't understand what the hell Lark was… I knew she was a speshul snowflake but I didn't understand what her powers were all about. What was the point of them? Why and how did she get them? Why were they so speshul?
-Oren was a decent character, it was sweet how he stuck by Lark even though she acted like a cow and was giving him mixed messages. Nix, Olivia, Wesley and Basil were good characters too.
-It was so obvious that Basil would turn out to be Prometheus. How did none of the characters figure that out? All the signs were there.
All in all, I wasn't impressed. The whiny heroine and predictable plot let the story down.
May 3, 2018
Lark must find Basil. Her brother is the only person who can understand, what it was like to be captured by the leaders of her own city, drained of her own magic, and altered into a weapon meant to capture the Renewables--rare humans able to generate new magic and, therefore, able to power entire cities . . . if those humans are imprisoned and drained of their gift until they die.
But Basil has been gone for years. Lark's only clue is that he was headed for another city ages ago. So that is where she travels. With no one but Nix, the malfunctioning machine originally designed to both track and protect her. And Tansy, the Renewable girl whose powers are both a gift and a curse.
And the shadow stalking them all. The young man and monster who never knew he was one until Lark told him. But this is a world where monsters are hard to define. They can be anyone. Every face looking out of a window. Anyone caught out after dark without magic. Perhaps even the darkness Lark feels lurking within her own insatiable need to steal magic.
She must find Basil before it's too late. For everyone.
Exceptional. A high-speed adventure through a dystopian world in which good and evil are utterly intertwined. A story of rebellion, revolution, invention, loyalty, and love. Where no one is safe and someone's life is on the line every few pages.
But Basil has been gone for years. Lark's only clue is that he was headed for another city ages ago. So that is where she travels. With no one but Nix, the malfunctioning machine originally designed to both track and protect her. And Tansy, the Renewable girl whose powers are both a gift and a curse.
And the shadow stalking them all. The young man and monster who never knew he was one until Lark told him. But this is a world where monsters are hard to define. They can be anyone. Every face looking out of a window. Anyone caught out after dark without magic. Perhaps even the darkness Lark feels lurking within her own insatiable need to steal magic.
She must find Basil before it's too late. For everyone.
Exceptional. A high-speed adventure through a dystopian world in which good and evil are utterly intertwined. A story of rebellion, revolution, invention, loyalty, and love. Where no one is safe and someone's life is on the line every few pages.
October 16, 2013
It wasn't as good as the first one, but I still enjoyed it a lot (even though I guessed the final plottwists) and had all the trouble putting it down.
August 29, 2013
Skylark is not my favorite book. It wasn't even one of my top ten books of 2012. The world building is problematic, the beginning is a slog, and all the big twists are telegraphed way too far in advance. But I gave it three stars because it really does get much better as things progress, and there's this moment toward the end of the book that feels so heartbreaking and true, and that moment made me love Meagan Spooner (genuinely love her) because it takes a very specific kind of mind to write something like that. I had absolutely no idea where she would take the second novel, but I definitely wanted to find out.
Shadowlark is, for all intents and purposes, a much better book. If you enjoyed Skylark, I cannot imagine a universe in which it would be possible for you to dislike its sequel. Everything escalates logically, and it doesn't fall into any of those typical second book holes (save one, which I'll get to later). If you found that first book to be problematic for the same reasons I (or--good Lord--Blythe) did, I'm not quite sure how you're going to feel here. Lemme break it down.
The Good:
We start right in the middle of the action this time. The first chapter kind of recaps things, and then we're out with Lark and Nix looking for her brother and lots of exciting things happen right away.
The descriptive language is really lovely. Spooner does an excellent job of painting what she wants you to see, and her word choice is just fantastic.
The world building is much better. A lot of the groundwork was laid in book one, so now we get to play. All the stuff that felt so boring and pointless in Skylark is beginning to make sense as we see how Lark fits into the huge world she's entered since leaving her home city in pursuit of her brother.
The characters have such nice little real personality quirks--like the woman who compulsively corrects Lark's grammar--and seeing Lark interact with her friends Tansy and Oren, with whom she has such deeply complicated relationships in two very, very different ways, is a lot of fun. And Oren has some really great stuff here. I love Oren.
And there are a lot MORE characters. It's not just a girl, a boy, and a metallic hummingbird for most of the book. And a lot of the new characters are really fun.
Nix. I really, really, really love Nix. He is such an adorable robotic sidekick, and loyal in just the sweetest way.
The Not-so-Good:
One of my silliest enormous literary pet peeves is when a character has a dream and it doesn't follow the rules of real-life dreams, and Shadowlark has a BIG dream sequence that...hoo boy. It's just not my favorite thing in the book, I guess. I had a really hard time with it.
Lark is kind of unlikeable. I appreciate that Spooner makes choices that show her protagonist in maybe not the best light, but it seems like everything anyone in these books does is because of Lark and how amazing she is. I'd like her to be a bit more amazing and maybe earn some of it.
Spooner breaks canon a bit here, having people and creatures behave in a way that is contrary to how they're set up in Skylark. I can't really get more specific than that without being spoilery in an uncool way. But the monster moments in particular are pretty different from the monstery stuff we've seen in the past.
There are also A LOT of coincidences, including a child being recognized by strangers who had seen a drawing of her at a much younger age. I get why something like this has to happen, but I wish it had been done more gracefully. Even a photograph would have been better than a drawing, you know?
And none of this is such a big deal. I probably would have given Shadowlark four stars if it weren't for two things. The first (and this is really the only major second-book mistake made) is that there is an almost sitcom-y call-back to the moment of beauty from Skylark, and it feels wrong and and it feels cheap and it bums me out hardcore. The second, and probably more important, issue is that I knew what the HUGE ending plot twist would be instantly when I read the book's description. And even if it hadn't been set up the way it was in that blurb, I would have guessed it by 15% in. That bought me two one-way tickets to bumtown.
But, again, if you enjoyed Skylark you will love this book. There is a lot more of the good stuff with very little of the bad. It's lovely and sweet and safe for young readers, and based on how well she spun this story off of the world established in Skylark, I'm excited where Spooner takes us in book three.
Also posted at Finding Bliss in Books.
Shadowlark is, for all intents and purposes, a much better book. If you enjoyed Skylark, I cannot imagine a universe in which it would be possible for you to dislike its sequel. Everything escalates logically, and it doesn't fall into any of those typical second book holes (save one, which I'll get to later). If you found that first book to be problematic for the same reasons I (or--good Lord--Blythe) did, I'm not quite sure how you're going to feel here. Lemme break it down.
The Good:
We start right in the middle of the action this time. The first chapter kind of recaps things, and then we're out with Lark and Nix looking for her brother and lots of exciting things happen right away.
The descriptive language is really lovely. Spooner does an excellent job of painting what she wants you to see, and her word choice is just fantastic.
The world building is much better. A lot of the groundwork was laid in book one, so now we get to play. All the stuff that felt so boring and pointless in Skylark is beginning to make sense as we see how Lark fits into the huge world she's entered since leaving her home city in pursuit of her brother.
The characters have such nice little real personality quirks--like the woman who compulsively corrects Lark's grammar--and seeing Lark interact with her friends Tansy and Oren, with whom she has such deeply complicated relationships in two very, very different ways, is a lot of fun. And Oren has some really great stuff here. I love Oren.
And there are a lot MORE characters. It's not just a girl, a boy, and a metallic hummingbird for most of the book. And a lot of the new characters are really fun.
Nix. I really, really, really love Nix. He is such an adorable robotic sidekick, and loyal in just the sweetest way.
The Not-so-Good:
One of my silliest enormous literary pet peeves is when a character has a dream and it doesn't follow the rules of real-life dreams, and Shadowlark has a BIG dream sequence that...hoo boy. It's just not my favorite thing in the book, I guess. I had a really hard time with it.
Lark is kind of unlikeable. I appreciate that Spooner makes choices that show her protagonist in maybe not the best light, but it seems like everything anyone in these books does is because of Lark and how amazing she is. I'd like her to be a bit more amazing and maybe earn some of it.
Spooner breaks canon a bit here, having people and creatures behave in a way that is contrary to how they're set up in Skylark. I can't really get more specific than that without being spoilery in an uncool way. But the monster moments in particular are pretty different from the monstery stuff we've seen in the past.
There are also A LOT of coincidences, including a child being recognized by strangers who had seen a drawing of her at a much younger age. I get why something like this has to happen, but I wish it had been done more gracefully. Even a photograph would have been better than a drawing, you know?
And none of this is such a big deal. I probably would have given Shadowlark four stars if it weren't for two things. The first (and this is really the only major second-book mistake made) is that there is an almost sitcom-y call-back to the moment of beauty from Skylark, and it feels wrong and and it feels cheap and it bums me out hardcore. The second, and probably more important, issue is that I knew what the HUGE ending plot twist would be instantly when I read the book's description. And even if it hadn't been set up the way it was in that blurb, I would have guessed it by 15% in. That bought me two one-way tickets to bumtown.
But, again, if you enjoyed Skylark you will love this book. There is a lot more of the good stuff with very little of the bad. It's lovely and sweet and safe for young readers, and based on how well she spun this story off of the world established in Skylark, I'm excited where Spooner takes us in book three.
Also posted at Finding Bliss in Books.
November 24, 2017
So, yea....this one got another 3 star from me. It was only going to be a 2 (maybe even a 1) but it got really good in the last 150-200 pages. So I would say the 3 star is warranted.
I was incredibly bored up until those last 200 pages and I swear I was dozing off at different times of the book. I don’t know what it is...it seems like there was too much talking and too much inner monologue than there was action or excitement.
After leaving the iron wood, Lark and Tansy traversed through the world looking for Lark’s brother. There was some this, there was some that (nothing worth mentioning unfortunately) and eventually they came across an abandoned town and run into a family who begrudgingly take them in for the night. Once night hits, the family turns into the cannibals and attack Lark and Tansy. They barely make it out alive but are captured by people and are taken underground.
Here they are locked in a cell and Tansy is taken away. Lark and Oren break out of the Cell and explore where they are and find themselves in a city. Barely escaping another arrest, they are taken to the resistance and find out Promethius is using renewables to power, like Larks home city. A plan is hatched to overthrow the leader and when she is face to face with him, Lark sees it is her brother that she’s been searching for.
I should have seen that coming. I don’t know why I didn’t think he was but I thought he’d be trapped there, not running the place.
Lark manages to convince him to release the prisoners and they can escape, but one of her brothers followers turns on them and tries to kill everyone. Lark being all badass, kills him and in the end, leaves to go back to her city to stop what they’re doing too.
I’m anxious to get this third book started and over with to be honest. I really hope there is a ton more excitement and action and less inner thoughts. I realize this is good for character development and overall world building but there is such a thing as too much. Fingers crossed that this last book really blows me away
I was incredibly bored up until those last 200 pages and I swear I was dozing off at different times of the book. I don’t know what it is...it seems like there was too much talking and too much inner monologue than there was action or excitement.
After leaving the iron wood, Lark and Tansy traversed through the world looking for Lark’s brother. There was some this, there was some that (nothing worth mentioning unfortunately) and eventually they came across an abandoned town and run into a family who begrudgingly take them in for the night. Once night hits, the family turns into the cannibals and attack Lark and Tansy. They barely make it out alive but are captured by people and are taken underground.
Here they are locked in a cell and Tansy is taken away. Lark and Oren break out of the Cell and explore where they are and find themselves in a city. Barely escaping another arrest, they are taken to the resistance and find out Promethius is using renewables to power, like Larks home city. A plan is hatched to overthrow the leader and when she is face to face with him, Lark sees it is her brother that she’s been searching for.
I should have seen that coming. I don’t know why I didn’t think he was but I thought he’d be trapped there, not running the place.
Lark manages to convince him to release the prisoners and they can escape, but one of her brothers followers turns on them and tries to kill everyone. Lark being all badass, kills him and in the end, leaves to go back to her city to stop what they’re doing too.
I’m anxious to get this third book started and over with to be honest. I really hope there is a ton more excitement and action and less inner thoughts. I realize this is good for character development and overall world building but there is such a thing as too much. Fingers crossed that this last book really blows me away
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 7, 2024
This is book #2 in the Skylark Trilogy. I liked this one more than book #1. This one started right where the first one ended and it was non-stop action.
Lark is searching everywhere to find her brother or to determine what happened to him. Her search leads her to captivity....and things from there, start to rapidly unfold.
I like the characters. They are all so different. I also love that the dialogue doesn't feel stiff or bogged down. Overall, I liked this one and it was a solid 4 stars.
Lark is searching everywhere to find her brother or to determine what happened to him. Her search leads her to captivity....and things from there, start to rapidly unfold.
I like the characters. They are all so different. I also love that the dialogue doesn't feel stiff or bogged down. Overall, I liked this one and it was a solid 4 stars.
October 19, 2013
Initial Thoughts: It was hard to get into this book. I had forgotten a lot of the first book and I was a little confused. There was a bit of predictability to the plot so no surprises there. Still - an OK book. Do not read this series out of order - the first book is Skylark.
My Review:
For a much anticipated sequel, Shadowlark had big shoes to fill. I enjoyed the world of the first book Skylark and I was very excited to get an advance copy of Shadowlark. The thing is, I really did not enjoy Shadowlark as much as I had hoped to.
Perhaps it’s because I read Skylark some time ago and I really couldn’t remember the world full of magic and mechanical contraptions. I’m kind of conflicted about this because the author is an amazing writer – it’s just that I could have benefitted from a better recap of events. This is unusual for me because I usually find recaps repetitive but for this book, it would have increased my enjoyment of Shadowlark because of the specialized terminology.
The world building in Shadowlark is quite imaginative. This is a world powered by people with magical abilities called Renewables. Their magic is harvested and used to power the cities – think Star Trek’s Borg hive queen for a visual. Understandably, these Renewables don’t want to be harvested and they form a Resistance to fight against the powers that be. The world above ground seems innocuous until nightfall when the inhabitants change into Shadow people, attacking anyone who is unfortunate enough to remain above ground. The underground city of Lethe was intriguing. There’s a nice mix of magic and steampunk contraptions in this world.
Shadowlark is full of action packed sequences, especially when Lark and Oren are on the surface searching for Lark’s brother Basil. There were quite a few hairy moments…While Lark is an interesting character, I have to say that Oren won my heart in this book.
The big reveal was easily guessed early on. I was kind of hoping that I was wrong and that there would be some sort of plot twist but alas, my guess was dead on.
All in all, Shadowlark was an OK read for me. Perhaps it suffers from “middle book” syndrome as another book is scheduled for 2014. Shadowlark should appeal to young adult readers however the series must be read in order and I would suggest that they be read close together.
Thank you to NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group for a review copy of this book.
Review posted on Badass Book Reviews.
My Review:
For a much anticipated sequel, Shadowlark had big shoes to fill. I enjoyed the world of the first book Skylark and I was very excited to get an advance copy of Shadowlark. The thing is, I really did not enjoy Shadowlark as much as I had hoped to.
Perhaps it’s because I read Skylark some time ago and I really couldn’t remember the world full of magic and mechanical contraptions. I’m kind of conflicted about this because the author is an amazing writer – it’s just that I could have benefitted from a better recap of events. This is unusual for me because I usually find recaps repetitive but for this book, it would have increased my enjoyment of Shadowlark because of the specialized terminology.
The world building in Shadowlark is quite imaginative. This is a world powered by people with magical abilities called Renewables. Their magic is harvested and used to power the cities – think Star Trek’s Borg hive queen for a visual. Understandably, these Renewables don’t want to be harvested and they form a Resistance to fight against the powers that be. The world above ground seems innocuous until nightfall when the inhabitants change into Shadow people, attacking anyone who is unfortunate enough to remain above ground. The underground city of Lethe was intriguing. There’s a nice mix of magic and steampunk contraptions in this world.
Shadowlark is full of action packed sequences, especially when Lark and Oren are on the surface searching for Lark’s brother Basil. There were quite a few hairy moments…While Lark is an interesting character, I have to say that Oren won my heart in this book.
The big reveal was easily guessed early on. I was kind of hoping that I was wrong and that there would be some sort of plot twist but alas, my guess was dead on.
All in all, Shadowlark was an OK read for me. Perhaps it suffers from “middle book” syndrome as another book is scheduled for 2014. Shadowlark should appeal to young adult readers however the series must be read in order and I would suggest that they be read close together.
Thank you to NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group for a review copy of this book.
Review posted on Badass Book Reviews.
September 14, 2020
2020
I didn't like Shadowlark as much as I enjoyed Skylark and I think a majority of that stems from Second Book Syndrome. It's a hard thing for an author to avoid because they need to bridge the first book to the third book; and, unfortunately for me, that's all this book felt like.
I was annoyed with Lark because she 'trusts' Oren, but she never seems to want him around. She keeps trying to push him away or leave him behind (even though she should realize that the only thing keeping him human is her). Even though he has proven time and time again that he would literally do anything to save her. Lark doesn't seem to be getting much smarter than where she started. Although she has learned a little bit more about controlling her powers, she still doesn't seem to realize how important she is. She is literally the only person who is able to grab magic from someone else (even to an extent where they can die). And she thinks that she can do everything on her own. That she can't have Oren or Tansy or Nix be there to help her. Heaven forbid! She's gotta hold the whole world together all by her little self.
Aside from that, I had also guessed most of the major plot twists pretty early on. Especially when the found the journal. Connecting Basil to the place was just too big of an uncover for me. I thought the author might end up proving me wrong and that was a misdirection, but, unfortunately, it wasn't. So I wasn't at all surprised when the big 'reveal' happened and I desperately had wished that I would be. I sort of felt like the plot was moving along slowly because of this, too. I knew what was going to happen and so I just kept going, "Let's get on with it, shall we?" Since it was a bit predictable I was a little bored at times. And, I'll admit, I skipped a few paragraphs (mostly descriptive ones) along the way.
I wish some things had been a little bit more explained, too. When she finally finds Basil and realizes that their gifts are different, I felt like things could have been explained a little bit more. Since Basil was a volunteer, I thought that, maybe, he would have had some knowledge about her magic sucking abilities, but he seemed as in the dark as she was. And he didn't even seem to understand how his own powers worked. And it has yet to be explained fully when Oren isn't a shadow person around her. There have been plenty of shadow people around her that want to kill and eat her, but Oren seems to be immune to his shadowness when she's around and I'd like a full explanation why. And if it turns out to be some BS thing like she's so pretty and he's be in love since moment one, I'm going to be peeved because that is such a cop out. And I'm still not 100% sure what causes shadow people in the first place (maybe that was in one of the paragraphs that I skipped), but I don't think the author has really explained why people are zombies at night but normal during the day.
I felt the ending was a bit rushed between Basil and Adjuntant and Oren and everyone. I just felt like so much of the book dragged on to have the last 10 pages just be crammed full of stuff to prepare for the next one was just a little bit of a let down. Hopefully the third one is a banger!
I didn't like Shadowlark as much as I enjoyed Skylark and I think a majority of that stems from Second Book Syndrome. It's a hard thing for an author to avoid because they need to bridge the first book to the third book; and, unfortunately for me, that's all this book felt like.
I was annoyed with Lark because she 'trusts' Oren, but she never seems to want him around. She keeps trying to push him away or leave him behind (even though she should realize that the only thing keeping him human is her). Even though he has proven time and time again that he would literally do anything to save her. Lark doesn't seem to be getting much smarter than where she started. Although she has learned a little bit more about controlling her powers, she still doesn't seem to realize how important she is. She is literally the only person who is able to grab magic from someone else (even to an extent where they can die). And she thinks that she can do everything on her own. That she can't have Oren or Tansy or Nix be there to help her. Heaven forbid! She's gotta hold the whole world together all by her little self.
Aside from that, I had also guessed most of the major plot twists pretty early on. Especially when the found the journal. Connecting Basil to the place was just too big of an uncover for me. I thought the author might end up proving me wrong and that was a misdirection, but, unfortunately, it wasn't. So I wasn't at all surprised when the big 'reveal' happened and I desperately had wished that I would be. I sort of felt like the plot was moving along slowly because of this, too. I knew what was going to happen and so I just kept going, "Let's get on with it, shall we?" Since it was a bit predictable I was a little bored at times. And, I'll admit, I skipped a few paragraphs (mostly descriptive ones) along the way.
I wish some things had been a little bit more explained, too. When she finally finds Basil and realizes that their gifts are different, I felt like things could have been explained a little bit more. Since Basil was a volunteer, I thought that, maybe, he would have had some knowledge about her magic sucking abilities, but he seemed as in the dark as she was. And he didn't even seem to understand how his own powers worked. And it has yet to be explained fully when Oren isn't a shadow person around her. There have been plenty of shadow people around her that want to kill and eat her, but Oren seems to be immune to his shadowness when she's around and I'd like a full explanation why. And if it turns out to be some BS thing like she's so pretty and he's be in love since moment one, I'm going to be peeved because that is such a cop out. And I'm still not 100% sure what causes shadow people in the first place (maybe that was in one of the paragraphs that I skipped), but I don't think the author has really explained why people are zombies at night but normal during the day.
I felt the ending was a bit rushed between Basil and Adjuntant and Oren and everyone. I just felt like so much of the book dragged on to have the last 10 pages just be crammed full of stuff to prepare for the next one was just a little bit of a let down. Hopefully the third one is a banger!
May 13, 2013
“Shadowlark” by, Meagan Spooner
(This is the second book in a trilogy so it contains spoilers.)
Lark Ainsley has left the Iron Wood behind her with Tansy and Nix in tow. She is more determined than ever to find her brother Basil and finally figure out what was done to her by the architects. When the trio wanders into a town that has been overrun by shadow people they try to make a run for it. Trapped by the shadows and fearing the worst, Lark and Tansy are unexpectedly saved by shadow Oren. Just when Lark thinks they might be safe, they are taken captive by several armed strangers who take them to an underground city called Lethe. With more questions then answers and dangers around every turn, Lark begins to fear that she will never find her brother or a place where she will be safe.
I absolutely loved this story and I’ll be on pins and needles waiting for the third and final book. Here are just a few of the reasons why I loved “Shadowlark”:
*Oren is one of my favorite characters, and I’m including the other books I’ve read when I say that. I love the fact that he is so connected to Lark that he can see her light even when he is lost in shadow. He tells her that he will follow her anywhere and he does. He keeps her safe even when he doesn’t know who he is and he would give up his life for her. I love how strong and true he is. (“You’re the only thing that keeps me human. But if I woke tomorrow completely cured and whole, I would still follow you anywhere.”) Not an exact quote. It’s so romantic.
* Nix is suppose to be just a machine, but through Lark it becomes much more than that to the reader. It is very much another character that you grow to love. When it’s hurt you hold your breath waiting to see if it’s okay. It’s wonderful to see how Lark and Nix relate to each other and how the other characters react to it. Nix is a very special creation.
* Wesley is a nice addition to this trilogy. He is sort of a father figure and teacher to Lark. She wants to help him and is hurt when she feels she has let him down. He tells Lark…”You did what your instincts told you to do. Survive, at whatever cost. It’s hardwired into us, it doesn’t make us monsters.” Not an exact quote. Wonderful!
*”Magic doesn’t give you a weapon, it gives you a choice.” (Love it)
I felt so many things while reading this book. (Fear, anger, sadness, anxiety, and happiness) I really can’t say enough good things about this trilogy and I think that everyone should read it.
(This is the second book in a trilogy so it contains spoilers.)
Lark Ainsley has left the Iron Wood behind her with Tansy and Nix in tow. She is more determined than ever to find her brother Basil and finally figure out what was done to her by the architects. When the trio wanders into a town that has been overrun by shadow people they try to make a run for it. Trapped by the shadows and fearing the worst, Lark and Tansy are unexpectedly saved by shadow Oren. Just when Lark thinks they might be safe, they are taken captive by several armed strangers who take them to an underground city called Lethe. With more questions then answers and dangers around every turn, Lark begins to fear that she will never find her brother or a place where she will be safe.
I absolutely loved this story and I’ll be on pins and needles waiting for the third and final book. Here are just a few of the reasons why I loved “Shadowlark”:
*Oren is one of my favorite characters, and I’m including the other books I’ve read when I say that. I love the fact that he is so connected to Lark that he can see her light even when he is lost in shadow. He tells her that he will follow her anywhere and he does. He keeps her safe even when he doesn’t know who he is and he would give up his life for her. I love how strong and true he is. (“You’re the only thing that keeps me human. But if I woke tomorrow completely cured and whole, I would still follow you anywhere.”) Not an exact quote. It’s so romantic.
* Nix is suppose to be just a machine, but through Lark it becomes much more than that to the reader. It is very much another character that you grow to love. When it’s hurt you hold your breath waiting to see if it’s okay. It’s wonderful to see how Lark and Nix relate to each other and how the other characters react to it. Nix is a very special creation.
* Wesley is a nice addition to this trilogy. He is sort of a father figure and teacher to Lark. She wants to help him and is hurt when she feels she has let him down. He tells Lark…”You did what your instincts told you to do. Survive, at whatever cost. It’s hardwired into us, it doesn’t make us monsters.” Not an exact quote. Wonderful!
*”Magic doesn’t give you a weapon, it gives you a choice.” (Love it)
I felt so many things while reading this book. (Fear, anger, sadness, anxiety, and happiness) I really can’t say enough good things about this trilogy and I think that everyone should read it.
May 15, 2013
Shadowlark is a great second installment in an original dystopian series. The book market has been flooded with dystopian books on the heels of The Hunger Games' success, with mixed results. Skylark and its sequel land firmly on the "good" side.
Skylark takes place in a post-apocalyptic world, in which magic has destroyed the atmosphere. While everyone is born with a certain amount of magical ability, most of it gets used up in one way or another. Our protagonist, Lark, was raised in a city in which the magic is harvested to protect the city and its inhabitants. The magic fuels a large dome over the city, which keeps the wild magic outside out. (The wild magic eventually turns people into zombies, of a sort...cannibalistic, violent animals, also called Shadows.) Only those with renewable magic and Lark, who was experimented upon and can absorb magic, can survive the wilderness.
Shadowlark begins where Skylark left off; Lark is on a journey to find her missing brother, retreating from the community of renewables she met. She eventually stumbles into a dilapidated iron city, in which the inhabitants are human by day, zombified by night. Beneath the city, she discovers a massive metropolis, Lethe, run by the godlike Prometheus. Somehow, her brother's disappearance is wrapped up in Prometheus' heavy-handed rule, in a city where all renewables are brutally harvested, much like Lark's home.
The star-crossed love story between Lark and Oren continues in the novel, as does the companionship of Nix, the mechanical pixie.
The Skylark series does a wonderful job incorporating elements from dystopian, fantasy and steampunk genres. While it might sound like it could be a bit too much, Meagan Spooner weaves the threads of her story masterfully, making it an enjoyable read. Even those who are tiring of the constant barrage of dystopian novels can find something to love in this series.
Thanks to Lerner Publishing via Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
Skylark takes place in a post-apocalyptic world, in which magic has destroyed the atmosphere. While everyone is born with a certain amount of magical ability, most of it gets used up in one way or another. Our protagonist, Lark, was raised in a city in which the magic is harvested to protect the city and its inhabitants. The magic fuels a large dome over the city, which keeps the wild magic outside out. (The wild magic eventually turns people into zombies, of a sort...cannibalistic, violent animals, also called Shadows.) Only those with renewable magic and Lark, who was experimented upon and can absorb magic, can survive the wilderness.
Shadowlark begins where Skylark left off; Lark is on a journey to find her missing brother, retreating from the community of renewables she met. She eventually stumbles into a dilapidated iron city, in which the inhabitants are human by day, zombified by night. Beneath the city, she discovers a massive metropolis, Lethe, run by the godlike Prometheus. Somehow, her brother's disappearance is wrapped up in Prometheus' heavy-handed rule, in a city where all renewables are brutally harvested, much like Lark's home.
The star-crossed love story between Lark and Oren continues in the novel, as does the companionship of Nix, the mechanical pixie.
The Skylark series does a wonderful job incorporating elements from dystopian, fantasy and steampunk genres. While it might sound like it could be a bit too much, Meagan Spooner weaves the threads of her story masterfully, making it an enjoyable read. Even those who are tiring of the constant barrage of dystopian novels can find something to love in this series.
Thanks to Lerner Publishing via Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
October 1, 2013
3.5 stars
Meagan Spooner’s debut novel, Skylark charmed me enough that I was in her signing line at BEA about an hour early. Now, part of that was that it was the last day and I wanted to sit down, but I also didn’t want to miss seeing Meagan. Though Skylark didn’t achieve a ranking among my very favorite books, I was quite impressed with Spooner’s descriptions and, above all, unique world building. That tradition continues in Shadowlark with the addition of stronger character arcs.
Read the full review at A Reader of Fictions
Meagan Spooner’s debut novel, Skylark charmed me enough that I was in her signing line at BEA about an hour early. Now, part of that was that it was the last day and I wanted to sit down, but I also didn’t want to miss seeing Meagan. Though Skylark didn’t achieve a ranking among my very favorite books, I was quite impressed with Spooner’s descriptions and, above all, unique world building. That tradition continues in Shadowlark with the addition of stronger character arcs.
Read the full review at A Reader of Fictions
October 21, 2013
I need this book NAO! With a good dose of Oren and Nix!
UPDATE:
TO BE REVIEWD.
UPDATE:
TO BE REVIEWD.
November 14, 2015
RECENZE NA BLOGU
Tedy... otevřeně doznávám, že druhou polovinu knihy jsem prolétala očima a četla jen tak, abych věděla o co právě jde. Nemůžu si pomoct, ale tato série jde mimo mě. Hlavní hrdinka na můj vkus mění své nápady a názory tak rychle, že nestíhám sledovat, proč to vlastně udělala takhle. Její chování je fakt na ránu, hlavně taky proto, jak se chová k Orenovi.
Oren - ten, který zachránil můj dojem z 1. dílu knihy - na záchranu 2. knihy nestačil. Chlapec se snažil, bylo mi ho celkem líto - a opravdu bych mu přála lepší druhou polovičku a ne Lindu... Ježkovy oči, tak holka mi fakt šla na nervy!
Poslední díl si asi přečtu, ale mám dojem, že budu postupovat stejně jako u tohoto - tedy číst letem světem...
Tedy... otevřeně doznávám, že druhou polovinu knihy jsem prolétala očima a četla jen tak, abych věděla o co právě jde. Nemůžu si pomoct, ale tato série jde mimo mě. Hlavní hrdinka na můj vkus mění své nápady a názory tak rychle, že nestíhám sledovat, proč to vlastně udělala takhle. Její chování je fakt na ránu, hlavně taky proto, jak se chová k Orenovi.
Oren - ten, který zachránil můj dojem z 1. dílu knihy - na záchranu 2. knihy nestačil. Chlapec se snažil, bylo mi ho celkem líto - a opravdu bych mu přála lepší druhou polovičku a ne Lindu... Ježkovy oči, tak holka mi fakt šla na nervy!
Poslední díl si asi přečtu, ale mám dojem, že budu postupovat stejně jako u tohoto - tedy číst letem světem...
May 10, 2017
Another second book that was better than the first.
First off, we get to see yet another society in this dystopian world, Lethe, which is named after the mythical river in Hades that the dead in the underworld would drink from in order to forget their former lives. I found a lot of Lethe interesting, along with Basil's journal. The truth was certainly in there. She just couldn't see it.
I also like how Lark is starting to broaden her mind. She is not willing to give up Oren, she accepts homosexuality - even though she obviously didn't get it at first, and she is learning from her mistakes. But, it does seem pretty stupid that she doesn't trust Oren and is constantly trying to leave him behind at this point, because it is pretty obvious that he saved her life in the last book and would do anything for her. Because,even though she is getting smarter, she is also getting more self-destructive. We see that so much in book characters where they just decide that they need to do everything they can to make sure they die in the end. Whatever, girl, stop being a freaking martyr! Drama Queen!
First off, we get to see yet another society in this dystopian world, Lethe, which is named after the mythical river in Hades that the dead in the underworld would drink from in order to forget their former lives. I found a lot of Lethe interesting, along with Basil's journal. The truth was certainly in there. She just couldn't see it.
I also like how Lark is starting to broaden her mind. She is not willing to give up Oren, she accepts homosexuality - even though she obviously didn't get it at first, and she is learning from her mistakes. But, it does seem pretty stupid that she doesn't trust Oren and is constantly trying to leave him behind at this point, because it is pretty obvious that he saved her life in the last book and would do anything for her. Because,even though she is getting smarter, she is also getting more self-destructive. We see that so much in book characters where they just decide that they need to do everything they can to make sure they die in the end. Whatever, girl, stop being a freaking martyr! Drama Queen!
May 15, 2013
A fitting 2nd book to this white-knuckled trilogy. Lark continues her journey to find her brother. She now has to deal with what her power actually is and what she can do. Luckily, she has help on the way to discovering both her own powers and the mystery of where Basil has gone.
Still, my favorite character is Nix. He provides that R2-D2 comic relief and common sense. Although I’m still trying to wrap my head around the level of dystopia this trilogy contains, the world makes a little more sense in Lethe. A little. Maybe I’m not meant to fully understand until the 3rd novel. That seems to be where readers are led.
I have always disliked reviewing second books in a series because I don’t want to give away anything from the first book in case someone hasn’t read it yet. So I’ll stop my review here by saying READ THIS SERIES!!!! If you like dystopian novels, books with a magic element, and/or survival novels, you will probably enjoy this book.
Still, my favorite character is Nix. He provides that R2-D2 comic relief and common sense. Although I’m still trying to wrap my head around the level of dystopia this trilogy contains, the world makes a little more sense in Lethe. A little. Maybe I’m not meant to fully understand until the 3rd novel. That seems to be where readers are led.
I have always disliked reviewing second books in a series because I don’t want to give away anything from the first book in case someone hasn’t read it yet. So I’ll stop my review here by saying READ THIS SERIES!!!! If you like dystopian novels, books with a magic element, and/or survival novels, you will probably enjoy this book.
June 14, 2014
Byla jsem v pokušení dát i pět, ale to si schováme až pro poslední díl. Ze začátku jsem měla trochu problém s orientací, jelikož jsem první díl četla už dávno, a tak jsem si moc věcí nepamatovala. Navíc taky trvalo, než se děj pořádně rozjel. Co se ale dělo pak... to teda sakra stálo za to. Autorčin svět je prostě skvěle originální - ty věcí s magií jsou jedna velká senzace. A pak tu máme Orena. Prostě Oren ♥
4.5/5*
4.5/5*
Read
May 11, 2013Hi guys! Just wanted to let you know that if you're a book blogger/librarian/bookseller or other such wonderful creature, you can now get SHADOWLARK on NetGalley! You can go here to request it. Happy reading!
August 4, 2014
***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***
Shadowlark by Meagan Spooner
Book Two of the Skylark trilogy
Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab
Publication Date: October 1, 2013
Rating: 3 stars
Source: eARC from NetGalley
Summary (from Goodreads):
Ever since she escaped the city within the Wall, Lark Ainsley's wanted one thing: to find her brother Basil. She's always believed he would be the one to put an end to the constant fear and flight. And now, hidden underground in the chaotically magical city of Lethe, Lark feels closer to him than ever.
But Lethe is a city cowering in fear of its founder, the mysterious Prometheus, and of his private police force. To get the truth about what happened to Basil, Lark has no choice but to face Prometheus.
Facing her fears has become second nature to Lark. Facing the truth is another matter.
Lark never asked to be anyone's savior. She certainly never wanted to be anyone's weapon. She might not have a choice.
What I Liked:
I think I liked this book more than I liked the first book, but not by a huge margin or anything. This book had more action in it, and I feel like some things were explained better than they were in the first book. Or maybe I got used to reading about some things, and I felt more comfortable with them and understood them better than when I was reading the first book. Because if you read my review of the first book, you might have noticed: my review was a MESS. I was confused, my review is confusing, because the BOOK was confusing (for me).
Lark has left the Iron Wood, in search of Basil, her brother. She knows he's out there, and she wants to find him so he can help her understand who she is and what is happening to her. The path to Basil is not easy. She and her traveling companions, Tansy (a Renewable from the Iron Wood), and Nix (her pixie from the Institute) run into many problems, and eventually, Lethe.
At Lethe, one thing becomes clear: join the resistance and take down Prometheus, Lethe's leader/dictator/savior. The thing about the resistance is that they all agree that Prometheus has done amazing things for the city, but they don't agree with one thing (of several) that he is doing: holding Renewables against their will, to power the city.
Lark is faced with so many tough situations and issues in this book. In the first book, I thought she was kind of stupid. But in this book, I could definitely see her character development. She begins to stand up for herself, her friends, and her ideas. If she has a plan, she does what she can to follow through the plan.
The weirdness with the romance is cleared up. I'm not saying everything is rainbows and sunshine for Lark and Oren, because Ms. Spooner introduces more characters, and throws them into the supposed romance angle, but you can see from mile away that those characters mean nothing in terms of the primary romance. If you read book one, and you got an idea about the romance, then you can probably see where this one is going. Nothing romantic really happens, because Ms. Spooner is subtle and crafty about the romance. It's kind of nice, actually.
The plot of this book was a tad bit predictable, possibly boring, but I enjoyed it. I could see where it was going, but I thought the execution was okay. The writing style isn't something I *really* like, because Ms. Spooner is heavy on the descriptions and nonsensical driveling paragraphs. Those are the ones I usually glossed over, because there are SO MANY, and I'm like, can I just get to the story? Not EVERYTHING needs to be perfectly described. I have a really hard time visualizing this world, actually. So, all those descriptions have the opposite effect on me.
Anyway, I will be reading book three!
What I Did Not Like:
Many of the problems I had with the first book, I had with the second book. For example, I was confused a lot (though this book cleared up some things), I felt like the plot was extremely slow, I'm kind of ehh about the characters, the plot was a bit predictable, and I was bored at times, and skipped over sentences (and sometimes paragraphs) at a time.
The first book had a lot of descriptive paragraphs and basically, stream of consciousness drivel that was totally not necessary. This book had a lot of that as well. I skimmed those sentences and paragraphs, because most of them time, they weren't necessary to understand the plot or the characters, or any part of the book. I mean, I skimmed over them, and I still understand the basics (and more of everything).
The things that I don't understand or am confused about seem to be the things that are explained too much. For example, Lark's powers. In the first book, they weren't explained well. In this book, we get many examples of Lark using her powers, and I still don't understand them. She sucks magic away from people? Like a succubus or something? And Basil? And Oren? How do the shadow people come about? Why do some people not have any powers (the humans)?
The plot was really predictable. Like, once Lark got to Lethe, I knew what would happen with the resistance, with Olivia, with Oren, with Prometheus, who Prometheus is... it was too formulaic. Maybe I've read too many dystopia novels, but everything was predictable to me.
This made the plot (and therefore, my reading of this book) very slow. I thought I could read this book in a few hours - nope. This one took me a while. I was bored a lot, the descriptions were killing me, and the plot was too slow. I mean, yes, there was a lot more action in this book, but it was kind of boring action. And I totally saw it coming. Predictability was high in this book! And therefore, boredom.
And the ending was a tad bit anticlimactic. I expected a bigger, more plot-moving climax, to set up for the next book, but it was kind of meh. Maybe that's just me though. I'm still going to read the third book - I've come this far!
Would I Recommend It:
If you read and enjoyed the first book, yes! If you read and didn't enjoy the first book, then no. This book is similar to the first book in the aspects I didn't like, so if you didn't like the first book overall, then you should probably steer clear of this one. If you're debating whether or not to pick up the series at all, hold off! It might be worth it, it might not. Right now, I'm thinking no, it's not worth it, but who knows? Maybe the third book will blow me away!
Rating:
3 stars. I think I liked this book more than I liked the first book, but somehow, they ended up with the same rating from me. I will be on the lookout for the final book of this trilogy though!
Shadowlark by Meagan Spooner
Book Two of the Skylark trilogy
Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab
Publication Date: October 1, 2013
Rating: 3 stars
Source: eARC from NetGalley
Summary (from Goodreads):
Ever since she escaped the city within the Wall, Lark Ainsley's wanted one thing: to find her brother Basil. She's always believed he would be the one to put an end to the constant fear and flight. And now, hidden underground in the chaotically magical city of Lethe, Lark feels closer to him than ever.
But Lethe is a city cowering in fear of its founder, the mysterious Prometheus, and of his private police force. To get the truth about what happened to Basil, Lark has no choice but to face Prometheus.
Facing her fears has become second nature to Lark. Facing the truth is another matter.
Lark never asked to be anyone's savior. She certainly never wanted to be anyone's weapon. She might not have a choice.
What I Liked:
I think I liked this book more than I liked the first book, but not by a huge margin or anything. This book had more action in it, and I feel like some things were explained better than they were in the first book. Or maybe I got used to reading about some things, and I felt more comfortable with them and understood them better than when I was reading the first book. Because if you read my review of the first book, you might have noticed: my review was a MESS. I was confused, my review is confusing, because the BOOK was confusing (for me).
Lark has left the Iron Wood, in search of Basil, her brother. She knows he's out there, and she wants to find him so he can help her understand who she is and what is happening to her. The path to Basil is not easy. She and her traveling companions, Tansy (a Renewable from the Iron Wood), and Nix (her pixie from the Institute) run into many problems, and eventually, Lethe.
At Lethe, one thing becomes clear: join the resistance and take down Prometheus, Lethe's leader/dictator/savior. The thing about the resistance is that they all agree that Prometheus has done amazing things for the city, but they don't agree with one thing (of several) that he is doing: holding Renewables against their will, to power the city.
Lark is faced with so many tough situations and issues in this book. In the first book, I thought she was kind of stupid. But in this book, I could definitely see her character development. She begins to stand up for herself, her friends, and her ideas. If she has a plan, she does what she can to follow through the plan.
The weirdness with the romance is cleared up. I'm not saying everything is rainbows and sunshine for Lark and Oren, because Ms. Spooner introduces more characters, and throws them into the supposed romance angle, but you can see from mile away that those characters mean nothing in terms of the primary romance. If you read book one, and you got an idea about the romance, then you can probably see where this one is going. Nothing romantic really happens, because Ms. Spooner is subtle and crafty about the romance. It's kind of nice, actually.
The plot of this book was a tad bit predictable, possibly boring, but I enjoyed it. I could see where it was going, but I thought the execution was okay. The writing style isn't something I *really* like, because Ms. Spooner is heavy on the descriptions and nonsensical driveling paragraphs. Those are the ones I usually glossed over, because there are SO MANY, and I'm like, can I just get to the story? Not EVERYTHING needs to be perfectly described. I have a really hard time visualizing this world, actually. So, all those descriptions have the opposite effect on me.
Anyway, I will be reading book three!
What I Did Not Like:
Many of the problems I had with the first book, I had with the second book. For example, I was confused a lot (though this book cleared up some things), I felt like the plot was extremely slow, I'm kind of ehh about the characters, the plot was a bit predictable, and I was bored at times, and skipped over sentences (and sometimes paragraphs) at a time.
The first book had a lot of descriptive paragraphs and basically, stream of consciousness drivel that was totally not necessary. This book had a lot of that as well. I skimmed those sentences and paragraphs, because most of them time, they weren't necessary to understand the plot or the characters, or any part of the book. I mean, I skimmed over them, and I still understand the basics (and more of everything).
The things that I don't understand or am confused about seem to be the things that are explained too much. For example, Lark's powers. In the first book, they weren't explained well. In this book, we get many examples of Lark using her powers, and I still don't understand them. She sucks magic away from people? Like a succubus or something? And Basil? And Oren? How do the shadow people come about? Why do some people not have any powers (the humans)?
The plot was really predictable. Like, once Lark got to Lethe, I knew what would happen with the resistance, with Olivia, with Oren, with Prometheus, who Prometheus is... it was too formulaic. Maybe I've read too many dystopia novels, but everything was predictable to me.
This made the plot (and therefore, my reading of this book) very slow. I thought I could read this book in a few hours - nope. This one took me a while. I was bored a lot, the descriptions were killing me, and the plot was too slow. I mean, yes, there was a lot more action in this book, but it was kind of boring action. And I totally saw it coming. Predictability was high in this book! And therefore, boredom.
And the ending was a tad bit anticlimactic. I expected a bigger, more plot-moving climax, to set up for the next book, but it was kind of meh. Maybe that's just me though. I'm still going to read the third book - I've come this far!
Would I Recommend It:
If you read and enjoyed the first book, yes! If you read and didn't enjoy the first book, then no. This book is similar to the first book in the aspects I didn't like, so if you didn't like the first book overall, then you should probably steer clear of this one. If you're debating whether or not to pick up the series at all, hold off! It might be worth it, it might not. Right now, I'm thinking no, it's not worth it, but who knows? Maybe the third book will blow me away!
Rating:
3 stars. I think I liked this book more than I liked the first book, but somehow, they ended up with the same rating from me. I will be on the lookout for the final book of this trilogy though!
September 13, 2019
Still a really enjoyable series so far, but this definitely felt like a bridge between books 1 and 3. I still really liked learning more about this post Earth kind of world and also how we got a more deep dive into the magic elements. Lark is still a really enjoyable lead but the romance which didn't really bother me in book one, bothered me in this one. I also found this installment to be just a tad predictable. It did end up going exactly where I thought it would go but I thought for a moment, just a moment I would have been proven wrong. Meagan Spooner though is an author who has such a talent for writing. This has so far been a beautifully written story that is really hard to hate but it falls into the trope trap and story mold of books that came out around the same time. I like to try and suspend my expectations for the books I have taken a long time to get to but it's hard. But I will say this I am really enjoying this series overall, I do believe it does the dystopian world story a little differently then most and that is why it seems fresh to me.
May 15, 2017
Byla jsem pěkně vyklepaná. Děj se teď odehrával v mnohem klaustrofobnějším prostředí, asi díky tomu mi i příběh připadal ponuřejší, i když ve skutečnosti takový nebyl. Děly se špatné věci na základě dobrých úmyslů, na světlo světa vyplouvala tajemství, která by lidé radši nechali spát, názory se měnily na obě strany a kdo ví, kdo má pravdu? Sejde na tom, nebo je to o tom dělat v danou chvíli to nejlepší, co umíme a čeho jsme schopní?
September 4, 2020
I liked this book the best of the trilogy. The storyline was focused and had great pacing. It felt like there was much less random violence in this one and more time with character development and world building. I liked the additional characters, though one of them seemed to be a throw-away, and I never did figure out what happened to her.
December 31, 2020
I LOVED THIS SO MUCH! This was an amazing book to read and I’m so hyped to read the third one!!
July 28, 2014
I think Meagan Spooner must pride herself on being able to shock her readers into gaping at her books like goldfish because it didn’t just happen in Skylark. She lulls us as readers into a false sense of security, where you’re nodding along thinking it all makes sense and you know what will happen with not a thread of doubt. Then BAHM! You don’t.
I have given up trying to work out which characters are bad/good, never mind their motives because every, single time I was wrong. You’d think I’d learn wouldn’t you? If you think of the most unexpected, extravagant idea for a plot twist, go for the opposite. The simplicity of the twists fit in the story perfectly and I found myself flicking back through the pages oohing and aahhing to myself about how it all made sense now.
That wasn’t the only thing I like about this book though, because I have to say that Meagan Spooner’s beautiful writing stole the show. As I mentioned in my review of Skylark, the imagery she creates is so vivid that you feel as though you’re living through the character. You not only feel every emotion as if it’s your own, but the surroundings suck you into a new world; it’s what you look for in a book.
I thought the world was completely set in the first book, because in a way with Lark’s city and The Iron Wood being so poles apart it was basically 2 worlds in 1 (if that makes sense) but then Spooner introduces Lethe; a city so different from the others yet so similar it’s brilliant. Even at the very end Lark doesn’t understand how the cities are the way they are.
Then again Lark doesn’t understand much about what’s going on. Her character is unbelievably strong but the naivety she brought from her city never truly left. She seems to run headfirst into danger, never truly realising her worth to those around her even after being consistently used and betrayed because of it. It’s in Lethe that she realises she’s had enough. To be honest I can’t blame her. With the way people talk about her as if she’s no more than a weapon to be used at her own risk, a saviour even sacrifice for the people who look at her with disgust never seeing her as more than a monster to be feared, it’s a wonder she lasted so long. I respect that.
I would suggest that you read this book soon after Skylark because I’ve seen reviews where the reader found it hard to get back into the world with all its specialist terms after so long. The only reason this didn’t happen for me must have been because I read it straight after Skylark since they’d both already been released (and I couldn’t wait).
Posted on: http://enchantedbyya.blogspot.co.uk/
I have given up trying to work out which characters are bad/good, never mind their motives because every, single time I was wrong. You’d think I’d learn wouldn’t you? If you think of the most unexpected, extravagant idea for a plot twist, go for the opposite. The simplicity of the twists fit in the story perfectly and I found myself flicking back through the pages oohing and aahhing to myself about how it all made sense now.
That wasn’t the only thing I like about this book though, because I have to say that Meagan Spooner’s beautiful writing stole the show. As I mentioned in my review of Skylark, the imagery she creates is so vivid that you feel as though you’re living through the character. You not only feel every emotion as if it’s your own, but the surroundings suck you into a new world; it’s what you look for in a book.
I thought the world was completely set in the first book, because in a way with Lark’s city and The Iron Wood being so poles apart it was basically 2 worlds in 1 (if that makes sense) but then Spooner introduces Lethe; a city so different from the others yet so similar it’s brilliant. Even at the very end Lark doesn’t understand how the cities are the way they are.
Then again Lark doesn’t understand much about what’s going on. Her character is unbelievably strong but the naivety she brought from her city never truly left. She seems to run headfirst into danger, never truly realising her worth to those around her even after being consistently used and betrayed because of it. It’s in Lethe that she realises she’s had enough. To be honest I can’t blame her. With the way people talk about her as if she’s no more than a weapon to be used at her own risk, a saviour even sacrifice for the people who look at her with disgust never seeing her as more than a monster to be feared, it’s a wonder she lasted so long. I respect that.
I would suggest that you read this book soon after Skylark because I’ve seen reviews where the reader found it hard to get back into the world with all its specialist terms after so long. The only reason this didn’t happen for me must have been because I read it straight after Skylark since they’d both already been released (and I couldn’t wait).
Posted on: http://enchantedbyya.blogspot.co.uk/
October 20, 2013
*Genre* YA Dystopian
*Rating* 3-3.5
*My Thoughts*
As the sequel to Skylark, Shadowlark has some pretty big shoes to fill. Skylark's world building and creativity was pretty amazing and original in my opinion and I was expecting nothing less for Shadowlark. The question with so called sequels is whether or not they will actually succeed in capturing the reader's attention enough so that you are left wanting to finish the trilogy and not just give up on it totally because it falls flat on its face.
Lark Ainsley, Tansy, pixie Nix, and shadow boy Oren, find themselves in an underground city called Lethe and not everything is at it seems especially when they learn that there is a resistance of Renewables fighting back against the mysterious Prometheus who created the cities infrastructure and saved them from becoming shadow people. Lark's powers are at the center of this story. As many of you already know, Lark had her natural magic torn out of her by the Institute, and it was replaced with something much more sinister and dark which led her into escaping from the Walled city she grew up in.
Lark has come a very long way in understanding how devastating her abilities are, and in times of trouble or danger, she can almost always count on the power to help her out of dire situations. She's also not a cold or heartless bitch who watches as people die under her powers and then laughs about it. She definitely has some hard choices ahead of her. Readers also need to cut her a bit of slack as she's still a young lady who is still learning her way in the world, and understanding that nothing is at it seems and she's a very powerful ingredient in overcoming the Renewables ability to live their lives as they want to.
In all honesty, Shadowlark could have been a whole lot better, and yet, I won't sit here and antagonize or berate the author for stretching out Lark's search for not only her brother Basil, but, answers to what the Institute did to her. I really do wish that Basil's appearance could have come a bit earlier in the story though. They have a lot to discuss, and I don't feel that enough of the story was spent on what lead Basil to Lethe, or why he never went back to get Lark. I continue to appreciate the mystery behind the so called Renewables and also the mystery surrounding what really happened to the world and why only certain settlements managed to survive the aftermath.
In the end, I am hoping that the final story of this trilogy is as good or better than Skylark. I hope Lark and Oren get their answers, and I also hope that Basil is not finished in this series.
*Recvd via NetGalley 05/03/2013* Published October 1st 2013 by Carolrhoda Lab
*Rating* 3-3.5
*My Thoughts*
As the sequel to Skylark, Shadowlark has some pretty big shoes to fill. Skylark's world building and creativity was pretty amazing and original in my opinion and I was expecting nothing less for Shadowlark. The question with so called sequels is whether or not they will actually succeed in capturing the reader's attention enough so that you are left wanting to finish the trilogy and not just give up on it totally because it falls flat on its face.
Lark Ainsley, Tansy, pixie Nix, and shadow boy Oren, find themselves in an underground city called Lethe and not everything is at it seems especially when they learn that there is a resistance of Renewables fighting back against the mysterious Prometheus who created the cities infrastructure and saved them from becoming shadow people. Lark's powers are at the center of this story. As many of you already know, Lark had her natural magic torn out of her by the Institute, and it was replaced with something much more sinister and dark which led her into escaping from the Walled city she grew up in.
Lark has come a very long way in understanding how devastating her abilities are, and in times of trouble or danger, she can almost always count on the power to help her out of dire situations. She's also not a cold or heartless bitch who watches as people die under her powers and then laughs about it. She definitely has some hard choices ahead of her. Readers also need to cut her a bit of slack as she's still a young lady who is still learning her way in the world, and understanding that nothing is at it seems and she's a very powerful ingredient in overcoming the Renewables ability to live their lives as they want to.
In all honesty, Shadowlark could have been a whole lot better, and yet, I won't sit here and antagonize or berate the author for stretching out Lark's search for not only her brother Basil, but, answers to what the Institute did to her. I really do wish that Basil's appearance could have come a bit earlier in the story though. They have a lot to discuss, and I don't feel that enough of the story was spent on what lead Basil to Lethe, or why he never went back to get Lark. I continue to appreciate the mystery behind the so called Renewables and also the mystery surrounding what really happened to the world and why only certain settlements managed to survive the aftermath.
In the end, I am hoping that the final story of this trilogy is as good or better than Skylark. I hope Lark and Oren get their answers, and I also hope that Basil is not finished in this series.
*Recvd via NetGalley 05/03/2013* Published October 1st 2013 by Carolrhoda Lab
January 1, 2024
I have many points why this book is not as good as the first volume. Basically all aspects got worse. The atmosphere was not as good as in the first volume. Lark herself was now ... a bit strange? I liked her more in the first volume. And I didn't like the setting. It wasn't really my thing, or rather the author couldn't really draw me into this setting. Also we didn't really get any information about the world and what the hell is happening there. Nothing. You knew the plot of the book from the beginning and it was super annoying that our actually smart protagonist didn't even consider it. So there wasn't even really any plot development.
But I have to say, the beginning was the best beginning of a Young Adult book I've ever read. It was soooo awesome and I was really looking forward to this book. The whole middle part of the book wasn't really for me. And the ending was good again.
I have hope that the last volume will be good again! Depending on the third book, I might change my opinion (and rating) for this book.
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Update: I'm changing the rating from 4 to 3 stars. I read the last volume and it's better, but it's not really thatoo good for four stars. Now I see the book even worse than before. And you really don't miss much if you just skip this volume and read the third part straight away.
But I have to say, the beginning was the best beginning of a Young Adult book I've ever read. It was soooo awesome and I was really looking forward to this book. The whole middle part of the book wasn't really for me. And the ending was good again.
I have hope that the last volume will be good again! Depending on the third book, I might change my opinion (and rating) for this book.
-------
Update: I'm changing the rating from 4 to 3 stars. I read the last volume and it's better, but it's not really thatoo good for four stars. Now I see the book even worse than before. And you really don't miss much if you just skip this volume and read the third part straight away.
April 29, 2015
Spooner, Meagan Shadowlark, 327 pgs. Carolrhoda Lab, 2013. $17.95 Content: Language: PG-13 (13 swears); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG-13.
In this second book in the Skylark trilogy, Lark is still searching for her brother, Basil. She has left the Iron Woods, with her friends Tansy and a robot friend, Nix. They go into a settlement and come across a family of Shadow people-cannibalistic animals who are human during the day and don’t realize that they are monsters. While fighting them, Oren shows up to help them, even though Lark has told him to stay away from her. They soon find themselves under the settlement in a city that is run by magic and Tansy and Nix are taken by the police. While there, Oren and Lark become embroiled in the politics of a rebel group in their attempts to get Tansy and Nix back. Throughout the fight, Lark finds out more about her missing brother.
This is a great series. The author moves the story along quickly and the characters are easy to cheer for. There are twists and turns throughout the book, some are predictable, but it does not make the book any less entertaining. I’m super excited to see what Lark and Oren do in the last book of the trilogy.
MS, HS-ESSENTIAL. Reviewer, C. Peterson.
In this second book in the Skylark trilogy, Lark is still searching for her brother, Basil. She has left the Iron Woods, with her friends Tansy and a robot friend, Nix. They go into a settlement and come across a family of Shadow people-cannibalistic animals who are human during the day and don’t realize that they are monsters. While fighting them, Oren shows up to help them, even though Lark has told him to stay away from her. They soon find themselves under the settlement in a city that is run by magic and Tansy and Nix are taken by the police. While there, Oren and Lark become embroiled in the politics of a rebel group in their attempts to get Tansy and Nix back. Throughout the fight, Lark finds out more about her missing brother.
This is a great series. The author moves the story along quickly and the characters are easy to cheer for. There are twists and turns throughout the book, some are predictable, but it does not make the book any less entertaining. I’m super excited to see what Lark and Oren do in the last book of the trilogy.
MS, HS-ESSENTIAL. Reviewer, C. Peterson.
December 11, 2014
There is something endearing about Lark. I really like her story and it keeps me interested but I struggle with the moment when I see the path she logically needs to take and for some reason she just doesn't see it. It's not like she purposefully chooses another option or avoids it's completely it's more like she takes a little roundabout before she gets on it with just to make sure it's really going to go down like that. Also it took me a little while to remember who didn't make it out alive from book one - this time around I see that not all of the deaths are, hmm, similarly weighted, but I still couldn't care for them much because the story moves on with or without them all the same. This time around we have a better understanding of Lark and her ability's and yet she still chooses to let some opportunities pass when really she could've saved herself a lot of heartache were she just a little bit more proactive on the uptake. It is an enjoyable ride but frankly a little bothersome that some characters can become so anonymous given the amount of time you get to spend with them. Lastly, what on earth happens to all the folks above the grounds of Lethe? (See!?)
September 24, 2013
3.5
Last summer, I read Meagan Spooner’s debut novel, Skylark and fell in love a little bit. Then this summer I read her sophomore work, These Broken Stars, co-written with Amie Kaufmann and basically decided it was one of my 2013 favorites. And thus it was with great anticipation that I read Shadowlark, the sequel to Skylark. Friends, while I do not think Shadowlark is as good as Skylark OR These Broken Stars, I absolutely do not regret my time reading it and in fact I am super pumped up for the final book in this steampunk-fantasy-dystopia trilogy.
Read the rest of my review here
Last summer, I read Meagan Spooner’s debut novel, Skylark and fell in love a little bit. Then this summer I read her sophomore work, These Broken Stars, co-written with Amie Kaufmann and basically decided it was one of my 2013 favorites. And thus it was with great anticipation that I read Shadowlark, the sequel to Skylark. Friends, while I do not think Shadowlark is as good as Skylark OR These Broken Stars, I absolutely do not regret my time reading it and in fact I am super pumped up for the final book in this steampunk-fantasy-dystopia trilogy.
Read the rest of my review here
August 10, 2013
Ah. May. Zing.
I loved book one of this series and I was sooooo excited to get approved for book two. It didn't let me down. With rich, poetic language perfectly matched to book one, Skylark, this book took me deeper into Lark's world. In this book she ventures to a mysterious, underground city in search of her brother, and finds so much more than that. I know that sounds pretty vague, but I don't want to go into too much detail. If you've read book one, then I can assure you Lark continues on her kickass way, and the book's as terrifying, exhilarating and beautiful as the first. If you haven't read book one... do it.
Five stars!
I loved book one of this series and I was sooooo excited to get approved for book two. It didn't let me down. With rich, poetic language perfectly matched to book one, Skylark, this book took me deeper into Lark's world. In this book she ventures to a mysterious, underground city in search of her brother, and finds so much more than that. I know that sounds pretty vague, but I don't want to go into too much detail. If you've read book one, then I can assure you Lark continues on her kickass way, and the book's as terrifying, exhilarating and beautiful as the first. If you haven't read book one... do it.
Five stars!
September 19, 2013
Shadowlark brings in even more the stuff I loved about Skylark. Spooner's amazing world-building is displayed here with the underground city of Lethe, made of half-crushed buildings and scavenged pieces from the metropolis above it. Once again, magic, steampunk elements and dystopia are combined a swirled together to make an unforgettable novel. I can't wait for the third!
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