Windfall: Phantom Island Book 2

Phantom Island #2

by Krissi Dallas

Transported along with four friends onto a mysterious and magical Island, Whitnee Terradora wants nothing more than to return home safely—until she starts performing supernatural feats such as cyclones, healing, and communicating with the plant she accidentally set on Fire.

Suddenly, finding the Island seems like more than just a coincidence. When an ancient prophecy causes a controversy among the leaders of the White Island, Whitnee questions who is looking out for her interests, and who is interested only in gaining power. Even Gabriel, her one ally on the Island, has secrets that both confuse and allure her.

Who can Whitnee really trust to find out the truth about herself and her missing father? Could Whitnee really be the answer to the White Island's problems and if so, is it worth the danger of never returning home?

Genres: Fantasy

274 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Krissi Dallas loves pop music, mismatched socks, and Tex-Mex food. She is wife to Dr. Sam Dallas, mom to two strong-willed little boys and a couple of pups, and former junior high teacher of sixteen years. When she’s not busy serving in her church and community, Krissi is a multi-genre author with a commitment to create heart-pounding, imagination-inspiring entertainment geared for ages 12 and up. Books by Krissi Dallas DO NOT CONTAIN explicit language, gratuitous violence, or onscreen intimate scenes.

Do you love portal fantasy with a multi-generational cast of characters? An epic love triangle between two worlds? The Phantom Island series should be your first stop! For those who want to go behind the scenes of internet celebrities with an enemies-to-love adventure inside a small town setting, check out romantic comedy Wish Upon A Streaming Star. If you love a dark and twisty mystery with a cast of famous kids turned into spies and pilots on a mission to take down an evil organization, then Icarus Flight School is the series for you. Young adults and young-at-heart adults welcome!

EDUCATORS: Krissi loves doing author visits with junior high and high school. Get in touch today and download free teaching resources on her website!

Krissi is a proud screenwriter for the 100 Pages Movie project and loves nothing more than connecting with readers and writers of all ages.

Reviews

[Courtney (Fuzzy.Coffee.Books) · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I Liked: 1) The setting. I love the Island. If I could choose any place I've ever visited in a book to live, Phantom Island would be my choice. I may have said that during my Windchaser review, because I felt the same way while reading Windchaser. In Windfall, we to explore the Island even more. We visit the Geodorian lands, the Hydrodorian lands, and the Palladium. *fingers crossed that at some point we get to visit the Pyras in their native lands!* I've also heard, or maybe I dreamed it, that in the next book we'll be getting a map of the White Island. That would be awesome, because the one I drew for myself just doesn't cut it. 2) Gabriel. We got much better acquainted with Gabriel in Windfall. He is in my top five book boyfriends. Hot island guy, a bit of an attitude, with a hidden sensitive side? What girl doesn't want that? I love Caleb too, don't get me wrong. I have a sneaking suspicion that we are leading into a Team Caleb vs. Team Gabriel scenario. Sorry Caleb, I've got to go Team Gabriel all the way. I mean, in my imagination, he never wears a shirt. Ever. 3) The characters. We got to know most of the non-island characters pretty well in Windchaser, but you learn more intimate details about their lives in Windfall. If it's possible, they become even more real. Especially the two younger members of the Traveling party, Amelia and Kevin. 4) The antagonist! One thing I'll say about Windchaser is that there is no clear antagonist. In Windfall, you learn without a doubt who the antagonist is. We're not entirely sure why he/she is the antagonist, though there are some hints. It's nice to know who the common enemy is, and not having to be suspicious of everyone Whitnee and her friends meet while traveling the Island. 5) The ending. There is a big surprise at the end, that made me gasp and then smile with pleasure. If hot island boy abs don't do it for ya, know that the ending holds the promise of a great surprise.

What I Didn't Like: The only complaint I have is impatience. I'm too impatient to get back to the Island, waiting until Spring is nearly torturous.

Overall thoughts: One of the most creative books I've ever read, Windfall is a masterful study in imagery and character development. I love the characters, the wonderful setting, and the exciting plot. The story is so beautifully painted that it enables your imagination to easily bring it to life. Make sure to add the Phantom Island books to your TBR list if they aren't there yet.

See this and other fun reviews at Fuzzy.Coffee.Books!

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. It has adventure, mystery, 'clean' romance while still having plenty of "angst" and terrificly believable characters. I am not a teen but have raised six daughters, and this is a book/series I know they will ALL love. I guess everyone has their deepest wishes for any series, and mine is that things will eventually work out for Gabriel and Whitnee. They definitely deserve one another and he deserves a truly loving and faithful family like hers. I think Caleb has plenty of time and will find the right person too eventually (perhaps even Morgan?).

I'm so looking forward to the next and final book of this series this Spring!

Oh...and I listened to the audiobook read by Ms. Dallas and she did a great job!

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Windfall is even better than Windchaser was, and that is saying something! Seriously, you HAVE to read these books, I promise you will be hooked!

[Teri Townsend · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captivating

Loved reading more of the adventures of the White Island. I wanted to just keep reading everyday! Great writing that makes you feel like you’re there.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Seriously. Spoilers abound. If you intend to read Windchaser, DO NOT read this review, because it contains major spoilers for both books. Only one is marked, and that's because it's for Iron Man 2.

So, despite my dislike for the first book of this series, Windchaser, I did read the second one. Why? I had it checked out from the library and I did want to know how the plot would be wrapped up. Plus I wanted to see if I was right about the plot twists I guessed in advance.

Book 2 of Whitney's Island Adventure begins right where book 1 left off, the morning after the thunderstorm. Whitney&Co go from Aerodora to Geodora to Hydrodora. In Geo Land, Kevin and Amelia are kidnapped, and Whitney decides (without consulting Kevin or Amelia and completely ignoring Caleb's input, by the way. She only takes Morgan's advice because it's the same as hers) to send them to the Palladium with Abrianna, the obviously untrustworthy Guardian of the island.

They go to the Hydro World Water Park without their pint-sized sidekicks (who still had no plot importance. Seriously. There wasn't really a point to having them along.) and Whitney basically ignores all of Hydrodora in favor of brooding over her emotions for Gabriel and freaking out over a dream her father has sent her.

Then they're suspicious of Abrianna, so they go to the Palladium to break Kevin and Amelia out. And surprise, surprise, Abrianna is a bad guy! She has Amelia threatened with a knife to get Whitney to cooperate.
Whitney and her friends are fitted with poison armbands that will keep them from using their elemental powers and Whitney is taken to a small room where Abrianna explains her master plan.
She wants Whitney to give Abrianna her avatar powers. If she does this, Abrianna will use the power to govern the island wisely, do away with sily superstitions like the prophecies and the Guardian system, and she will bring Whitney's father to her.
Yep, that's right. Whitney's dad is on the island, and he's alive.
And Whitney says yes.

But luckily, Gabriel and Caleb force her through the portal back to the mainland with her friends, and they have to return to life as they know it. And Whitney doesn't get her dad back, but Abrianna doesn't get Whitney's powers either.

Oh, and I was right about Ben being an elemental. He's an airbender. Called it.

I made a list while reading this, of things that I wanted to put in this review. So, in no particular order, here it is:

--So, there's this prophecy. It says there'll be a person, known as the Pilgrim, who will come to the island. They'll have golden hair and powers in all four elements. Which Whitney does, so she's the Chosen One.

--Early on in the book, she decides to trust Abrianna. Abrianna, the Guardian, has been in the story for a grand total of maybe ten pages, and already I can tell she isn't trustworthy and does not have
Whitney&Co's best interests at heart. So Whitney decides to trust the Obvious Antagonist. Great call, Whitney.
She's TSTL.

--Then on page 80 she's concerned about Morgan being too trusting, and the possibility of her spilling their secrets. Here was my reaction:
Excuse me? Morgan is too trusting? Miss "Let's-Trust-Abrianna-I'm-Sure-She's-A-Good-Person"?
Morgan has been more suspicious of these questionable people they've been meeting since they landed on the island! That doesn't follow our given characterization at all. Whitney is the one who is too trusting--not to mention a terrible judge of character.

--And then she keeps secrets from them. Again. Whitney's friends are the only allies she has. She should tell them everything! She's the one who dropped them in this situation; they deserve to know what's going on.

--Page 90: "Hey, you know what? I think I'll sacrifice my secret to play dodgeball with coconuts. Yay! Best plan ever!"
Yep. She shows everything that she can earthbend by playing dodgeball with coconuts.
TSTL.

--♫Oops, she did it again...♫
She and Gabriel kissed. Never mind that he's been a jerk. And is keeping secrets. And is possibly manipulative with a hidden agenda and questionable loyalties.

--Love triangle!
To be honest, I expected this. It's YA, and urban-fantasy-ish. It's just so...come on! She's known this guy for less than a week!
If Jackson still counts it's a love quadrilateral. It's not a square because Jackson's corner is way further away than Gabriel's and Caleb's.

--Page 119: "I'd never figure out how to make a call on this thing."
Whitney SAW someone make a magic cell phone call. And if everyone wants her to keep in touch with these things, and have one for emergencies, why didn't anyone show her how to use it?

--The place where the Guardian lives is called the Palladium.
It sounds cool, but it doesn't sound like a building name...so I looked it up, and it's an element on the periodic table. The same one that is in the ARC reactor and slowly poisoning Tony Stark in Iron Man 2.

--Page 158: Abrianna tells Whitney, "Surely you wouldn't send two of your own to me for protection if you didn't trust me."
Whitney's reaction is, 'Why did I feel like she was really saying something else?'
I don't know, Whitney. Maybe it's because it's quite obviously a veiled threat.

--Once we get to the Hydro village, it looks like the fish phobia will finally become relevant.
It doesn't. She goes in the water "trying not to think about the fish". It doesn't really affect the story at all, since

--she doesn't do anything in the Hydro village anyway.
Krissi Dallas gives us a great description of the windy city. Good description of the earth town. When it came to describing the water tribe, though...it was like she just wanted to get it over with. It was almost as if she didn't really want to write that part. Everything that happens here is Whitney-centric--which the whole plot is anyway, but at least in the other villages Whitney actually paid attention to the people. Nothing happened in Water World except internal revelations.
And while we're on lack of description, Morgan is a waterbender. Why isn't Whitney interested in anything her best friend is enjoying? No description of the activities they do, no description of the water training Morgan is receiving...

--Also, before going to the Hydro village, they send Amelia and Kevin to the Palladium. They are understandably not happy about this, but Amelia gets really ticked. She says something along the lines of, "But who cares about us? It's all about you, Whitney!"
Later, the story paints her as wrong, and she apologizes...
...but Amelia was completely right.

--Page 186: Big reveal. Abrianna is Gabriel's mother. Gasp!
Saw that plot twist coming a mile away. I didn't figure he'd be the next Guardian, but I guessed Abrianna was his mom as soon as she appeared. "I'm a Pyro, I take after my father"...

--Page 201:
Chekhov's Gun alert.
No one knows for sure if island time parallels mainland time. So all this stuff they figure is impossible because the timeline is wrong? Totally possible.
Thinking about that, I knew they were going to get back to the camp on the same day they left or something.
Yeah, the Chekhov's Gun was completely wasted. There were more mundane explanations; Gabriel just didn't know them.
I was right about them getting back before people really noticed they were gone, though.

--Can you spell Protagonist-Centered Morality?
Whitney is a total idiot, keeping secrets, bossy as all get-out, and expects everyone to do what she tells them.
And the story acts like she's right. Every time.
Example: Amelia was being mean to Whitney, rightfully ticked that Whitney made the decision to send them away. When they do get to the Palladium, Amelia announces she doesn't want to go home. Abrianna offered her a place on the island.
And BAM! Abrianna proves to be a manipulative backstabber and her right-hand man puts a knife to Amelia's throat.
It's pretty blatant.

--"All I want is for you to transfer you access to the four elements to me." Uh, yeah right. Abrianna, do you not hear that statement dripping with "power corrupts"? Whitney is a terrible MC, but she isn't that stupid.
That was my reaction upon reading that.
And then Whitney said yes.
At which point I wanted to yell, "Whitney, you're an idiot! This woman held a knife to Amelia's throat! You should make it a point not to listen to anything she says, just on principle! And beside that, all of what she's saying sounds incredibly shady.

--Whitney is supposed to be the good guy. This is pretty questionable: she's agreed to condemn the island and everyone on it to a power-crazed dictator with all four elements. Nice job, Whitney.

--Page 244: "You think you know everything, Caleb, and you don't!"
Well, that would be because you never tell him anything Whitney. You never tell any of your friends anything. Gabriel knows more about what's happened to you than they do.

--When she learns her father was an islander, she's shocked. They're all shocked. At something that was painfully obvious. The reader can easily figure it out from the fact that Whitney's dad is actually on the island.

--"My whole world had been tipped upside down. Couldn't they understand that?" (Dallas 258)
Well, maybe they could if you weren't being so unreasonable. As I said, Protagonist-Centered Morality.

--And she still acts like it could have been okay to give Abrianna all four elements. All her friends also act like this was a viable possibility.
Abrianna is the bad guy, Whitney.
And then Caleb acts like he did something wrong when he pulled Whitney through the portal with them, when that was possibly the smartest thing he could have done in that situation. Caleb, you are smarter than Whitney is! Don't let her guilt-trip you!

So my main problem with this series is that I can't stand Whitney. Everything else is fine, even good. I just don't like the protagonist, and I can't understand why anyone in-story does either.

I'm sorry, Krissi Dallas. I really did want to like your book.

[Keyanah Ball · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t even believe this one was just as good as the first one. Actually better! I am moving through these books like crazy even with being busy and having a child 😂. I definitely want to buy her other series Icarus after finishing this one

[Jaylin Whiting · Rating 4 out of 5]

BOMB AFTER BOMB AFTER BOMB BEING DROPPED FOR THE LAST FEW CHAPTERS, high schooler me was like
👁️👄👁️

[Alissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! It was a very satisfying second half of the first one.

The good:

1) I really loved the character development. I felt like I got to know them enough to know that I wanted to know more. That was a convoluted sentence, but it's true. The three main characters have realistic strengths and weaknesses and a bond that is something that makes you treasure the friends in your life even more. They have - sometimes severe - ups and downs and I feel like they stayed in character. Her side characters were unique enough to be both remembered and speculated upon. I'm dying to know what makes Thomas so skeptical of Whitnee for so long! And Whitnee's Mom...I want to know more about her! The characters that they both travel with and stumble upon give a depth to the world and a richness to the story.

2) I thought the magic system was cool. It wasn't explained in great detail and was more in the 'feel' the magic camp, but was well done just the same. I thought the different types of magic made sense and the effects of the magic were fun to experience. I am looking forward to reading about it more in the next book.

3) The pacing of this book was very fast! It was a fun read and intense pretty much from page one.

4)Caleb and Gabriel. I know...another love triangle. However, I found this one refreshing on several levels. First, I like both of them. That's a big plus. Usually there's one that is clearly (to me) the right choice, so there's not as much tension. But I love both of these characters, so I don't even know who I'm rooting for. Second, they both have very clear strengths and weaknesses and they each have a very different relationship with Whitnee - and love her in totally different and totally beautiful ways. I'm looking forward to getting to know Gabriel a little better in the next book, so I'll have a little bit better understanding of his feeling for her. Finally, I love their relationship to each other...totally jealous, but totally respecful at the same time. They recognise the good in the other and see how the other is good for Whitnee. Which just makes me like them both better!

The not-so-good:

1) Okay, this one is just plain bad. However, I'm not sure it's really the book's fault. I'm going to blame the publisher for a huge mistake until I learn otherwise. Windchaser and Windfall should be ONE book. They should never have been split in two...ever. Neither book on its own has a complete story arch. It drives me mad! Reading either one without the other is impossible. There is one story in these two books and they needed to market it as such. Honestly, if I hadn't met Krissi Dallas myself and enjoyed our conversation, I would NEVER have picked up this second book. That's how mad I was at the first one. And that would have been a horrible, sad thing because this book was great! This is one of my biggest pet peeves as a reader. I really could go on and on about how horrible this idea was, but I think I've said enough. You get the idea. By the way, THIS is the reason I had to give it four stars instead of five...and even then I had to console myself that it was on both stories put together because as individual books they aren't complete (but I wasn't going to go on about that, was I?)

2) Whitnee annoys me sometimes. She just drives me nuts. I want to take her out and smack her every now and again...and she's the viewpoint character. I really think some of her decisions are just plain dumb, but I'm pretty sure they're in character for her, so I think it's just personality conflicts beween me and her...hahahaha!

Thats it. So, final thoughts? Read both books as if they were one, you'll enjoy them.

[Melodramaticfool · Rating 1 out of 5]

Major meh. The ending was left hanging for the third book...my main major complaint:



'Nough said.

[De'anna Woo]

I'm done with this series. ... For now O.O