Just as good as the first book! Loving the character development and am very anxious to begin the third installment. ( )

re-read May 12, 2014
Really, its all about Adrian. ( )

I could've done with a lot less relationship drama. Too many love interests, too much angst.

But, the rest of the book was great. Rose was still kickass. She was determined and headstrong but there was a lot of growing up portrayed. Particularly in regards to her mother. It was obvious to see that they are very similar people and that was the cause of a lot of their conflict. It was nice to see how that relationship developed and how they came to a bit of understanding of each other. The same could be said of Mia, who comes a long way in this book. Although bitchy, the events of this book change her - she goes through a lot but manages to find her way out the other side of her challenges.

I still love Dimitri. Although he's not exempt from having some stupid moments in this either. There was less of Lissa and Rose friendship - having been on their own for so long and younger when Lissa had her last boyfriend, they seem to be having issues problems navigating how to be friends and manage a relationship. Which to be fair, is hard for anyone. I didn't love that Lissa seems to forget Rose, even if she doesn't mean to. I would've liked to see a heart to heart between them and hopefully that will occur in the next book.

The action was fast paced and riveting and I flew through the remaining pages. This is a really fun series. ( )

Reread #1 I forgot about Mason. ( )

Such an entertaining series so far, enjoyed this book even more than the first.

Sometimes with a sequel new characters feel shoehorned in and you’d so much rather the focus be on the characters you’re already into, but I loved the addition of Adrian, he’s a bit of a mystery, has interesting romantic possibilities, and I liked that the more we learn about him, the more it enriched Lissa as well.

Rose’s mom also arrives early on in this sequel, the scenes between mother and daughter were intense and awkward, a fascinating dynamic, especially as it becomes apparent that they’re more alike than Rose really cares to acknowledge.

Romance plays a role here with Lissa’s relationship still going strong and Rose attempting to move past her inappropriate attraction to Dimitri by giving someone else a chance, if romance isn’t your thing though, there is plenty of action as well. There were definitely some horror movie type of moments where characters make obviously bad choices, but they are untrained, inexperienced teens so it tends to feel more truthful than frustrating when those bad choices happen, plus there were instances that balanced things out where you do see their smarts and skills on display, where there’s a strong sense of the guardian Rose is destined to become. I also really enjoyed that certain characters who aren’t necessarily each other’s biggest fans are forced to work together.

I just had such a good time reading this one, and there’s the added bonus that it takes place in wintery conditions including a tiny dash of Christmas which I thought was kind of great since the vast majority of the time festive stuff is reserved for contemporary romance, it was fun to encounter a sprinkling of the holidays in the paranormal genre. ( )