The Cross

Alliance #2

by Inna Hardison

How far would you go to save the girl you love? Would you sacrifice your best friend if it could get her out of prison?

When Riley is reunited with his best friend after years of not knowing if he were still alive, instead of a long awaited hug, he’s staring down the barrel of the gun. After all these years, Riley is taken captive by the one person he loved more than anyone. Can he forgive his friend for risking his crew once he knows what’s at stake for him and can his friend forgive himself for what he had to do to save Trina?

Full of unexpected twists, Book Two of the Alliance Series will keep you guessing at every turn. It is a heartbreaking journey of self discovery, forgiveness and redemption you don’t want to miss

Genres: Young Adult

Nook

First published April 18, 2016

About the author

Inna Hardison lives in a small coastal town on the Atlantic with her husband, two boys and two adopted pit mutts. When she is not writing, she is most likely reading something.

For new releases in the series and occasional freebies, visit my website at innahardison.com

If you want to read a preview of Escape, just go to this link: https://innahardison.com/previews/esc...

Reviews

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as the first, but I'm hoping....

I found that this book had way more dramatic monologue. Too much. At moments it made me think of my daughter and her friends in the school yard, stirring up drama, then constantly running after one another to fix that drama, and stir up more. For a huge chunk of the book, one character or another would upset other characters only to chase them to another location to hash it back out. It was dizzying, redundant, and the book itself stalled out for me there. I really loved the first book, could not put it down and immediately grabbed this one as soon as I finished. I still plan on reading the next, but I hope Ms. Hardison has resolved her dramatic monologue issue.

[Lizzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

In many series book 2 hits a slump. In this case, I didn't feel as if it did. Riley, Drake and the girls hook up through unexpected and violent circumstances with someone else from Riley's past, his best friend, who is now a soldier. From there, we are met with several unexpected twists to the story, all expressed from various viewpoints with emotional impacts differing depending on the character.

For me, what impresses me greatly in this book is the change in the two girls. They started out as princesses that had to be rescued but they have grown into strong women who make it clear that they do not intend to be left behind simply because the men feel the need to keep them safe. How the guys respond to and deal with this is interesting and the resultant dichotomy in each couple and their relationships change. As a result of this book and the 3rd book, I would definitely recommend it to teenage girls.

[Brenda H · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars. Review to come

[Cranky - The Book Curmudgeon · Rating 3 out of 5]

*** 3.5 Cranky Stars ***

Set in a dystopian world, after what I’ll term a “plague”, but is so much more, The Cross picks up where Escape left off. Our group is in danger and other players enter the fray.



As people from the past appear and ties are stretched, our group faces the ultimate challenge of trusting each other or letting suspicions tear them apart.



More revelations come to light about how the world came to be and the kind of forces our group is facing.



I read The Cross in virtually one sitting, inhaling it, and trying to get the answers that were left hanging in Escape. Hardison’s melancholy prose and slow reveal of the horrors of the past.



This series is written in multiple points of view, which is both a strength and a weakness. It has an overarching plot – a big one – and some interesting subplots.



The main issue with The Cross is that it suffers from Book Two syndrome in a series, where events from Book One are not really advanced. We get new information, but I was itching to know more, and a lot of the threads from Escape were not addressed in The Cross.



As the work is told in multiple points of view, we get different interpretations of the same event just from different characters. It was as if the narrative began to eat itself and I felt more use could have been made in advancing the plot along.



In saying that, there are so many things I like about this series. I love the characters have the gift of kindness and are willing to self-sacrifice for one another in a horrible world. Although, to be fair, I do sometimes wonder if the characters have a lick of survival instinct and seem to be willing to throw their lives away in acts of small sacrifices.



Their heroism, however, sense of friendship and bonds are admirable. It’s one of my favourite aspects of the series - characters who cling to the light, rather than just throwing it all into darkness.



Inna Hardison is a talented writer and I have enjoyed this series very much. I am about to start Legacy and I cannot wait.



I know the rating of my review is what it is, but I cannot urge people enough, especially those who enjoy dystopian series, to pick this up and give it a try.

http://twistedbookcur.blogspot.ch/201...

[Sam Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review

This book came with twists I did not see coming, and it certainly made me cry a bit! I think the first book was better then this one though. The writing in the first book was very good, very descriptive, but in the second one it seemed more rushed. The plot is amazing, but I just couldn't connect with the characters, maybe because it's jumping from everyone's different points of view instead of just one two people. But other then that it was a good book.

Also, I apologize for my horrible reviewing, this is only the 3rd or so book I've reviewed so I'm quite new to this.

[Tammy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought the first book in this series was okay, so I gave the second book a try. It was SO BORING. No three-act structure, no character development. Nothing happened except people talking. And their talking was bizarre. NO ONE TALKS LIKE THAT. The author's writing style is confusing and downright annoying. Don't bother with this one.