In book two of the Aloha Reef series, Colleen Coble introduces readers to the Tagama family. The main character, Annie, is a volcanologist and works at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Her work is suffering because she’s grieving the loss of her brother, Tomiko, and now her sister, Leilani, has gone missing.
When a family friend and former love interest, Mano Oana (from book 1), comes to return Tomi’s personal items and express his condolences, he alerts her to the possibility that Tomi might actually be alive. Mano and Tomi had joined the U.S. Navy as SEALs together and Tomi was missing in action and presumed dead in the Middle East. I loved this plot because I felt the anguish and tension Annie had at wanting to keep Mano at arm’s length, yet needing his support. She was caught between a rock and a hard place.
The secondary plot wasn’t as interesting for me because it focused on an evil cult that had resurfaced on the island. I persevered because I wanted to know if Leilani was involved.
I was happy to see characters from book one, see a character learn to manage Diabetes (my family lives with it, too), read about a pet Mongoose named Winston, and the history and facts about lava. Having visited the site and seen the different types of lava, it was more meaningful.
The wonderful writing continued to capture my attention:
“Without her mother’s attention, weeds had choked the path to the koi fish pond in much the same way that the family’s cares had begun to strangle Annie. The bonsai had lost its shape, too, just as her family no longer resembled the perfect unit it had once been.”
The encouraging lines always have me grabbing my highlighter:
"You've lost your vision and can't see the forest for the trees. You're always going to feel lost until you put God back at the center. He has to be the core equation."
"When something else is in God's place, nothing comes out right."