Author: Josephine Angelini
Date: May 29, 2012
Publisher: Harper Teen
Source: purchased
My grade: A+
Can true love be forgotten?
As the only scion who can descend into the Underworld, Helen Hamilton has been given a nearly impossible task. By night she wanders through Hades, trying to stop the endless cycle of revenge that has cursed her family. By day she struggles to overcome the fatigue that is rapidly eroding her sanity. Without Lucas by her side, Helen is not sure she has the strength to go on.
Just as Helen is pushed to her breaking point, a mysterious new Scion comes to her rescue. Funny and brave, Orion shields her from the dangers of the Underworld. But time is running out--a ruthless foe plots against them, and the Furies' cry for blood is growing louder.
As the ancient Greek world collides with the mortal one, Helen's sheltered life on Nantucket descends into chaos. But the hardest task of all will be forgetting Lucas Delos.
Josephine Angelini's compelling saga becomes ever more intricate and spellbinding as an unforgettable love triangle emerges and the eternal cycle of revenge intensifies. Eagerly awaited, this sequel to the internationally bestselling "Starcrossed" delivers a gritty, action-packed love story that exceeds all expectations. (cover and description from www.goodreads.com)
MY REVIEW
Initial reaction
::cries:: No! I don’t want the book to be over yet? Can’t it just go on and on forever??
Title and Cover
The title is perfect, especially after reading the book. I don’t like this cover as much as I liked the first one. I love the girl in a toga look, but in this one, the girl looks, well, uncomfortable. She looks like she’s standing in a contortionist pose or something. Looking at it makes me uncomfortable.
Plot, characters, etc.
First of all, I have to ask…..OMG, Josephine Angelini, have you been taking lessons at the Cassandra Clare school of total heart fail relationships???? Or the Stephenie Meyer school of love triangles with 2 perfect options????
Ok, now that I got that off my chest, let me say that this book was phenomenal. I didn’t know if she could do it again, but Josephine Angelini really delivered on this second novel. The story was still intense and such a mixture of romance, action and adventure and mystery. Plus, Helen has her own quest this time, which is perfect for a book based on Greek mythology, right? Everything that made me love the first book was here in the second book, done as well or better.
This book picks up exactly where the last one finished. Helen is making her trips to the Underworld, trying to figure out how to stop the Furies. She and Lucas are trying to leave one another alone and the whole situation was breaking my heart. Then, lo and behold, one night, another Scion hottie shows up in the Underworld to help her in her quest. Enter Orion.
Orion is a wonderful character. I loved, loved, loved him. He was sent by Daphne, Helen’s mother, to help her along in the Underworld. At first, I wasn’t sure that I should trust him, but as Helen learned to trust him, I did too. Then I fell in love with him! He was so thoughtful and protective of Helen and just an all-around good guy. Plus, he has this childhood full of heartbreak that he’s carrying around and yet, he remains solid.
And herein lies the problem. Now that Josephine Angelini has created the king of all love triangles, I don’t know which team I’m on. Every other page I was changing up. At first, I was Team Lucas all the way. Then as the story moved along, I started leaning toward Orion. Of course, there’s also the whole cousin thing, but that never stopped me from rooting for Jace, so why should it stop me now?? I’m so confused!!!!
This book was a real page turner. I could not put it down. It was this bad—We went canoeing yesterday with my 4 year old and I took the book in my backpack, hoping I could read some when we stopped for lunch. Needless to say, of course we had an accident and a bunch of water ended up in the canoe, and all over my book. It was ruined. But I couldn’t stop reading it. I still sat down with a SOAKING WET BOOK and continued reading during lunch. Then, as soon as we got in the car, I pulled out that ruined book and read until I finished it. I just couldn’t bear the thought of having to wait until I could get to some wifi with my Nook or get to a Walmart to buy a copy. (We were stuck in the mountains of NC, miles from civilization!)
(see my poor book!)
Oh Josephine Angelini! I know you are sitting on high just reveling in the torture that you inflict on us mere mortals who read your books! Perhaps I need to go on a quest to help you stop torturing your readers!
Of course, it is the best sort of torture. The torture of a fabulous story that you cannot put away because you are so engrossed in the storyline and the lives of the characters that you feel like it has become your own life. That is one of the things I love so much about reading and Josephine Angelini is the master of creating a new world in her books for me to inhabit.
Songs
Vanilla Twilight by Owl City
I chose this song because it made me think of Helen and Lucas.
Crash and Burn by Savage Garden
This song seemed almost perfect for Orion.
In the Shade of Poison Trees by Dashboard Confessional
This song seemed to fit Helen's whole situation in general and the title made me think of the Underworld.
The Final Grade
My grade for this one is an A+. If possible, it may have been better than the first one. I am so in love with this series. I think I may camp out at the bookstore the night before the 3rd book releases so that I can get it first thing the next morning. And I’ll lie there and dream of Lucas and Orion. : )
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