By: Siobhan Davis
Published: April 30, 2015
ebook
Source: ARC from publisher via Netgalley
(Goodreads / Amazon)
Summary:
Back on Earth, Ariana is caught in a dangerous crossfire between clandestine rebel organization Clementia and the power-hungry government. Refusing to divulge the location of the secret information entrusted to her by her late father, she desperately tries to bargain for her Mom, Lily, and Cal’s rescue. She’s fighting a losing battle, and the clock is ticking.MY REVIEW:
Presented with evidence of her fiancé Cal’s apparent betrayal, she loyally defends him despite her concerns. With her emotions in turmoil, matters become even more complicated as she grows closer to her ex-boyfriend Zane.
When the stakes are raised, a succession of shocking revelations rocks her world, setting her on a path that will not only change her destiny but the fate of humanity.
Confronted by a memory so abhorrent comes a truth she would do anything to forget.
But some things just can’t be undone.
Let me start by saying that I enjoyed this more than book one, True Calling. I felt it was better written, flowed better and honestly it felt like it was written by someone else than book one was. That may sound harsh, and I don't mean for it to, but it was that noticeable of a change to me. I still had some irritations but not near as many and the ones I had this time were minor.
Book 2 takes place on Earth. Ariana escaped Nova but Cal had to sacrifice himself to help get her to safety. Without him, she leans heavily on someone she was extremely close to once but has no memory of: Zane. Ariana is still hiding valuable information from both the government and the rebel group known as Clementia. She doesn't believe she can trust either group as they both seem to have an agenda - and one that isn't 100% honest on either side. She comes to learn she is nothing more than a pawn with both groups and her circle of trusted friends is very small.
There were a lot of twists and turns, which always make a story more interesting. There was a lot of moments that felt helpless and then a few that bring hope back.
If you read my review for book one, then you'll remember I had a list of 4 main rather large irritations. I'm not going to rehash those here because I didn't have the same ones. I did however have a couple minor issues while reading:
#1 - Ariana is an American girl and as such would not use slang words that are British. That just doesn't make sense.
#2 - I don't mind love triangles that make sense. When a character genuinely feels pulled between two people. What I don't like is when a character is "so in-love" with someone and yet settles for someone else because they can't have their first choice. Unfortunately there is a sort of love triangle mess that doesn't make much sense to me in this story (and it's not between Ariana, Cal and Zane).
#3 - There is a moment 72% through where Ariana confides in a girl named Ruby. (someone we had seen only minimally in the story) It made zero sense why she would confide in this person given her trust issues. There's no buildup of friendship between the two and it seems unlikely she would be sharing the level of information she does with her.
All in all, it was enjoyable to read and I look forward to checking out Light of a Thousand Stars, a novella told from Zane's POV, and then the final book Destiny Rising (True Calling #3).
Favorite Quotes:
"I love you," he says, matter-of-factly. "Irrespective of how you feel, my love will never change. I'll always be here for you."
"There's a part of me that calls out to you, but there's a stronger part that can't dismiss the love in my heart for Cal. The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but I can't ignore my feelings."
"The heart has huge capacity for love and vast, hidden depths."
"I was in love with you before I even existed in your thoughts. For me, nothing else mattered except being with you."
Language Rating: 2 (medium)
Mature Content Rating: 1 (light)
Final Rating: 3.5 stars
This post is part of the ARC Thursday feature on Words Fueled by Love.
I think I enjoyed True Calling a bit more than the second book, but I do agree that the twists and turns in the second book were really well done. And the novella LOATS is really good, I loved finally getting that piece of the story. The author is british, so that might explain the slang. I never know what's american or english and always use a mix of UK and US words myself, so I never notice those things. I really liked how even the rebels weren't completely good, I like those shades of grey and those twists at the end, really took me by surprise, it was a great twist! Great review!
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