Author Amanda Carney continues the story of Jesse and Parsley in the second installment of the First Fruits series. After the mother of all cliffhangers from Second Coming's predecessor, I was left with such a feeling of dread, especially with such a tense ending.
After the "situation" is resolved from the aforementioned cliffhanger, Jesse realizes that Patrick's obsession with Parsley isn't something that's ever going to relent. He, along with Felix, come up with the plan to send Par to Allswell, a safe haven for supernaturals. Allswell is the only place that offers safety to Parsley, as the only being not allowed in are vampires. No vampires, no Patrick, perfect. Problem is, all's not well in Allswell, as Jesse doesn't explain that minor detail to Parsley, which adds some angst to an already tense predicament. But Jesse will do anything to protect Par, even if it means sending her to another dimension. Without him.
I loved how in this installment, Carney brought some more creativity to an already unique series by introducing a whole other dimension. Allswell was such an interesting and detailed place, and the inhabitants of this peaceful and picturesque dimension were just as rich and dimensional as the setting. Reminiscent of a fairytale, Allswell was so bright and fun and cheerful that it added such brightness and balanced out the darker elements of this tale. I'm not much for cutesy and fairytales, so I was super glad that Allswell didn't quite overshadow the darkness. Patrick, in all of his sadistic glory, was still around for much of the story. He's so incredibly creepy, so incredibly evil, and yet this series wouldn't be the same without him.
3.5, rounded up to 4. My only quibble with Second Coming is the relationship between Par and Jesse; now that the chase is over and they're together, they're almost borderline nauseating with their rainbows and kittens romance. I'm also not one for terms of endearment, especially "baby", and Jesse lays it on super thick. Like I said, minor personal quibble, and certainly nothing that would take away from the overall enjoyment of the story. Highly recommend this series, it's certainly something that would appeal to both paranormal romance and urban fantasy fans.
**Many thanks to Amanda Carney for providing a copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
**2016 Cliterary Genius A to Z book challenge, letter S.