I'm torn. I love this book more than the first. In so many ways. Yet I love the first book because the characters seemed to have more heart. Or at least Jemma's character had more heart. In the first novel we saw Jemma slowly building up to the realization that she had a larger portion in life than she'd been giving herself and I suppose I was hoping that that new life was going to include Hawke.
It really does include Hawke but not as closely as I was hoping.
This book seems to be more a story centered around Declan and his anguish over having lost Miranda in such a violent way. His anger and vengeance toward Grant who taunts him with the knowledge that as a Manticore he had killed Miranda by swallowing her whole.
This story is also about Hawke and about Misty and their position in Jemma's organization. But I seems that since she has had to take the helm, that fact hamstrings her characters involvement in the real action in this novel.
It's all understandable, though. Riding herd over the Valens and other associates while trying to wage war on Gruen, Astrid and Grant is taking all of Jemma's time and energy. That doesn't include the worry and decision she must face about the Humani abominations that Gruen is making using the blood of Valens who are unaware of what they are.
The stakes are getting higher and the Humani are becoming more intelligent and dangerous. Jemma is proving to become a fast learning leader.
One thing in this type of fiction is that the higher the rank the protagonist gets the less effective or exciting they become as a tool drive the plot. Everyone wants to keep the Generals protected and away from the fighting. Jemma will fight this but in this story she mostly shows up as the leader while those around her are thrust into the fray of the action.
I love how this story examines the inner workings of the evil Cerberus organization. The infighting and the revelations that come out regarding the real pecking order. There's lots of reveal in this novel and the novel is well paced. I read this at one sitting and I'm enthusiastically waiting for the next book.
Hats off to a job well done, Sherrel Lee, in making the transition from Jemma Nix the orphan to Jemma Nix the leader and keeping the story interesting and exciting.
I can't imagine where things will lead to next.
I'd recommend this to anyone who likes Paranormal and Mythical adventures and even Sci-Fi. Probably not so much recommendation for those who need there SF to be hard as in well explained.
J.L. Dobias
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