YA Book Review: Darklight by Lesley Livingston

Darklight by Lesley Livingston
(c) December 2009 by HarperTeen

Goodreads description:

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.

Thoughts, Ramblings, Musings...

As an up-front warning, I try really hard to keep my reviews spoiler-free, but this is the second book in the Wondrous Strange trilogy and I can't guarantee that something I write won't be construed as "spoiler-y" in terms of the first book.   There.  Now you know...read at your own risk! If you're interested in the series, check out my review of the first book!


Let's start with this: if you haven't read book one (Wondrous Strange) in this series, then don't pick up this one.  This is definitely the type of series/trilogy that requires you to start with book one and work through the rest.  Book two wouldn't make sense without book one (and really, book two isn't complete without book three).


I mentioned in my review of Wondrous Strange that I loved Kelley's independence and fiery personality.    That's definitely still true in this book and I enjoyed watching her develop and learn what it really means to be a faery princess (and the daughter of Auberon and Mabh no less).  She stands as one of my current favorite female protags as of late (no Bella syndrome here, thank goodness).

There was a good bit of character development in this book, which I really enjoyed.  We get to know our main characters (Kelley and Sonny) quite a bit more.  We started to get to know the Fennrys Wolf more.  I totally dig his character.  As the reader, you wonder at his intentions at times, and if you're like me, you'll want to tell him--"Back off!  She's Sonny's girl!"  (Or maybe that's just me and I'm way too invested in fictional relationships)  This was definitely the highlight of this book for me.  I felt like Livingston took the characters that I met in book one and really let me get to know them.  Even the faery kings and queens get a bout of character development in this one.

Beyond character development, I have to admit that I felt like this book dragged just a little.  It all leads up to this huge cliffhanger reveal at the end, but it felt like a long time getting there.  This book strikes me as a bridge between books one and three.  You get to know the characters.  There is just enough plot line to keep you going.  However, the end (and really the whole story) definitely leads you into the third book.  I understand wanting to leave a cliffhanger to pull readers into the final book, but I guess I would have liked a little more plot development here.  Take it a little further, that's all I'm saying.

If you like the series, get more information at the author's website. Also, enjoy this book trailer. :-)