“That girl would move Heaven and Earth to return to you, and nothing and no one would stop her.”–Ivy to Carter
It’s been a month since Violet and Carter were separated from each other. As Carter tries to find a way to get Violet to return to him, he discovers a shocking revelation about a connection between their families. Meanwhile, Violet nurses an aching heart and longs to return back to Earth, while her friend Gabriel finds himself struggling to uncover betrayals amongst the Guardians. When the ultimate betrayal happens and friends become foes, the three of them must find a way to reconnect and battle against a powerful evil who has Violet in his sights…
“Never make a deal with the devil.”–Gabriel
This is a great follow-up to Descended, and if you enjoyed the first book, definitely pick this one up to see what’s next for the gang! There isn’t much recapping of the first book, so if you hadn’t read the first one, you might find yourself a bit lost at points. Like the previous book, the story starts off slower and gets much better as the story progresses. At the start, Violet is pining over Carter despite the fact that there are traitors in their midst while Carter is obsessed with having Violet return to him despite the fact he needs to be training for the greater good. While their love makes the story great at the end, at the start it seemed like they should have focused their priorities differently (but what can you do with young love?).
The plot was entertaining, and I loved the revelation about Violet’s past and the implications of it. Gabriel played a big role in this book, and I felt bad for him when he realized that he was being lied to and then with the big betrayal scene. I especially loved how little things in the first book returned in the second book with a bigger role, particularly the mysterious blade that Fallon took.
The storytelling is much tighter in this book compared to the first book, but it still feels like I was being told a story rather then being drawn into the story. This is also told in omnipresent third person, jumping back and forth between characters. Overall, the plot and storytelling isn’t very complex so it can be easily read by young teens. Although it can be enjoyed by adults, the story is super sweet and simple enough that it might not keep adults’ attention so I would definitely say this is correctly targeted at young adults (think Disney movie). The romance is sweet, the heroine is brave and cunning, and the heroes are loyal and protective. I wouldn’t have any problem letting younger teens reading this. On the bonus side, there are some advanced words that could benefit a growing vocabulary for youngsters (yay for built-in Kindle dictionaries!) although I do have to point out that word choice sometimes made the storytelling seem stilted.
Like the previous book, I found the later parts more interesting and was quickly scrolling through until the last line, which I’m dying to know what the implications are! There is some resolution (loved the compromise), but there is still unanswered questions and more to explore for another book, especially with the mini-cliffhanger with the last line! If you enjoy sweet young adult paranormal romances with angels then take a look at this series! This is a 4 out of 5 for me!
(Originally posted on my blog; I received a copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review)