The Awakening (Darkest Powers, #2)
Kelley Armstrong:
Publication Date: 4/28/09
Publisher: Harper Collins
Blurb (GR): Chloe Saunders is on the run and raising hell. Literally.
Chloe Saunders is not your average supernatural teenager. Genetically altered at birth by a sinister team of scientists, she can barely control her terrifying powers. Now the team that created her has decided it's time to end the experiment. Permanently.
Now Chloe is running for her life along with a charming sorcerer, a troubled werewolf and a temperamental young witch. Together they have a chance for freedom - but can Chloe trust her new friends?
Review:
The second book in "Darkest Powers" trilogy starts where the first one left off - Chloe is at the research institute and contemplating escape. What follows is pretty much Chloe's and her friends' journey to get to the person who might be able to help them find Derek's and Simon's father (which is I suppose is what this trilogy is about, but I am not sure at this point).
The first book in the trilogy was undoubtedly drawn out and artificially extended, but this second book sure beats that. While "The Summoning" had at least some semblance of a story (specifically, the discovery of the true nature of Lyle House), "The Awakening" is truly 400 pages of filler. Almost nothing is added to the main story arc - only 3 pages describing the purpose of the experiments on supernaturals and the idea that Derek's and Simon's father can be found with the help of his friend - Andrew. The rest of the book is pretty much limited to: hiding in various warehouses (150 pages), hiding in an abandoned house (50 pages), riding a bus to Andrew's house (150 pages), and finally meeting Andrew (10 pages). "The Awakening" truly has no climax of any sort. It reads as a boring series of events that serve no purpose but to develop the characters, which is fine, when not used so shamelessly to fill pages and pages at the expense of the real plot. There are some nice Derek/Chloe moments, and only these moments save the book from being a complete waste of time.
If I had hopes that the trilogy would pick up after a rather slow first book, I don't have them any more. The second book proved to be as boring of a read as the first one, and even worse. This is a pity, because Armstrong knows how to write an engaging and tightly plotted book. This Darkest Powers "trilogy" however is a shameless attempt to extend 250 pages of story into 3 books 400 pages each.
I am not sure if I will ever get back to this series. I expect I will not be able to remember much about it even a month later.
2/5 stars
Kelley Armstrong:
Publication Date: 4/28/09
Publisher: Harper Collins
Blurb (GR): Chloe Saunders is on the run and raising hell. Literally.
Chloe Saunders is not your average supernatural teenager. Genetically altered at birth by a sinister team of scientists, she can barely control her terrifying powers. Now the team that created her has decided it's time to end the experiment. Permanently.
Now Chloe is running for her life along with a charming sorcerer, a troubled werewolf and a temperamental young witch. Together they have a chance for freedom - but can Chloe trust her new friends?
Review:
The second book in "Darkest Powers" trilogy starts where the first one left off - Chloe is at the research institute and contemplating escape. What follows is pretty much Chloe's and her friends' journey to get to the person who might be able to help them find Derek's and Simon's father (which is I suppose is what this trilogy is about, but I am not sure at this point).
The first book in the trilogy was undoubtedly drawn out and artificially extended, but this second book sure beats that. While "The Summoning" had at least some semblance of a story (specifically, the discovery of the true nature of Lyle House), "The Awakening" is truly 400 pages of filler. Almost nothing is added to the main story arc - only 3 pages describing the purpose of the experiments on supernaturals and the idea that Derek's and Simon's father can be found with the help of his friend - Andrew. The rest of the book is pretty much limited to: hiding in various warehouses (150 pages), hiding in an abandoned house (50 pages), riding a bus to Andrew's house (150 pages), and finally meeting Andrew (10 pages). "The Awakening" truly has no climax of any sort. It reads as a boring series of events that serve no purpose but to develop the characters, which is fine, when not used so shamelessly to fill pages and pages at the expense of the real plot. There are some nice Derek/Chloe moments, and only these moments save the book from being a complete waste of time.
If I had hopes that the trilogy would pick up after a rather slow first book, I don't have them any more. The second book proved to be as boring of a read as the first one, and even worse. This is a pity, because Armstrong knows how to write an engaging and tightly plotted book. This Darkest Powers "trilogy" however is a shameless attempt to extend 250 pages of story into 3 books 400 pages each.
I am not sure if I will ever get back to this series. I expect I will not be able to remember much about it even a month later.
2/5 stars
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