Having had the pleasure of reading the first book in this series, The Space Between, and thoroughly enjoying it, I was pretty excited to dive into the sequel and see where the author was going to take these characters. Several months have passed since Leni and Jeric's souls have forged and a lot has changed. Their bodies have healed from their last battle, they're now living in the mysterious manor and training with the other guardians, and they've gained special abilities, along with other things. And we find them struggling to come to terms with their new life, their roles as guardians, and the high expectations that come along with them being leaders of their unique group. We also see them on the hunt for two very important guardians, Rebethanna and Nathayden. We're introduced to many new characters, including plenty of fellow guardians, and some old characters resurface. One character who plays a particularly big role in this story is Bethany, who popped up in the previous book.
Bethany's story was quite difficult for me to read at times. She struggled throughout the entire book and her life wasn't easy at all. She's had a difficult past, which is true for many of the characters in this series, and is busy working herself to the bone to support her sister and sick mother. There's a lot of darkness in her life, which is evident to those around her, an especially to the guardians. Even Bethany can feel the darkness slowly taking over, while she tries to hold herself together. Along with wanting to protect Bethany from the Lakari, Leni is also drawn to her on a much deeper level and feels like there's more to Bethany than they all realize. Bethany's love life is another huge struggle for her and she doesn't always make the best decisions.. I felt like Bethany was a bit naive at times and lacked some common sense at others, but I did enjoy her POV and became really invested in her story. I think she made for a great addition to this series.
Jeric is still struggling with having Leni involved in fighting the Lakari, as much as he knows it's inevitable and necessary, and is constantly at battle with himself. He has difficulty, up until the bitter end with trusting Leni's instincts, even though he's promised to do so. But, by the time the book ends, I think he may have finally learned his lesson. Leni, on the other hand, really embraces her role as the "light" for the other guardians and tries her best to embrace her new responsibilities. One thing that did frustrate me was this all-powerful, still mysterious, book that was supposed to somehow have all the answers. As of 67%, the book had provided them with hardly any help, save for one cryptic message that just left more questions than answers. I will say that at least the other characters shared this frustration, and the book did pull through eventually, but it was something that bugged me for most of the book.
Although Leni jumps head first into her new leadership role among the other guardians, her "super-intuition" was a bit disappointing at times. One character that pops up in this book is Rebethanna, a fellow guardian, and someone who us supposedly very close to several of the guardians, especially Leni. Leni is convinced that once she finally sees Rebethanna in person, she'll know immediately and have such a strong pull to her. The only problem with this is, when she does meet someone who she thinks is this mysterious Rebethanna, it turns out to be just a tiny "hunch" on her part that she's finally found her. I was really looking forward to these characters sharing an huge connection and, unfortunately, it wasn't there. At least not in the capacity I was hoping for.
I really enjoyed this installment in the Book of Phoenix series. I have to say, It did start off a bit rocky for me at first. Right when they finally had their first mission, and I was expecting some action and excitement, it seemed to hit a lull. The author jumped to a new POV, and it felt like I was starting a brand new book. I began to feel a bit disconnected to the original story pretty quickly after that and it bothered me for a while. Looking back on it now, it really doesn't bother me as much as it did while I was reading. I see now that we got two great stories, which is very similar to the first book, and the eventually tied together perfectly.
This book was beautifully, sometimes disturbingly descriptive. One scene in particular was pretty unexpected and extremely difficult for me to read. But the message behind this series remains incredibly sweet and the characters, old and new, really do work themselves into your heart. The ending was bittersweet, and will definitely leave you on the edge of your seat, wanting more. My heart broke for a few of the characters and I'm dying to know what happens next. As for the two new guardians we finally meet, I have a soft spot for them now and can't wait for them to get their happy ending.