Review - Darklight

Darklight (Wondrous Strange #2)
by Lesley Livingston
Date: 2009
Publisher: HarperTeen
Reading level: YA
Book type: prose novel
Pages: 310
Format: paperback
Source: Indigo

Much has changed since autumn, when Kelley Winslow learned she was a Faerie princess, fell in love with changeling guard Sonny Flannery, and saved the mortal realm from the ravages of the Wild Hunt.

Now Kelley is stuck in New York City, rehearsing Romeo and Juliet and missing Sonny more with every stage kiss, while Sonny has been forced back to the Otherworld and into a deadly game of cat and mouse with the remaining Hunters and Queen Mabh herself.

When a terrifying encounter sends Kelley tumbling into the Otherworld, her reunion with Sonny is joyful but destined to be cut short. An ancient, hidden magick is stirring, and a dangerous new enemy is willing to risk everything to claim that power. Caught in a web of Faerie deception and shifting allegiances, Kelley and Sonny must tread carefully, for each next step could topple a kingdom... or tear them apart.

With breathtakingly high stakes, the talented Lesley Livingston delivers soaring romance and vividly magical characters in Darklight, the second novel in the trilogy that began with Wondrous Strange.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I know I usually start off my reviews with a quick summary of the story, but this time I'm truly at a loss. And that's not a good thing.

I enjoyed Wondrous Strange enough to want to search out the sequel. Unfortunately, Darklight falls victim to the second-book curse. The writing is fairly good, but the plot is sorely lacking. I was more than halfway through the book when I realized that I had no idea what the plot was. After finishing the book, I'm still not sure. It seems to be a series of seemingly unrelated incidents that lead up to a major revelation about one of the characters and a cliffhanger ending.

Fans of the series will want to find out what happens next, of course. I'm going to be on the lookout for the next book so I can find out what happens to Kelley and Sonny. But I wasn't impressed with this part of the trilogy. I'm sure what happened in Darklight will turn out to be an important and integral part of the story... but at the moment it's left me unsatisfied and a little frustrated.

Plot: 2/5
Characters: 3/5
Pace: 3/5
Writing: 4/5
Originality: 3/5

Overall: 3 out of 5