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One of the things that sticks out in my mind from the first time I read this series (and it has nothing to do with anything that happened IN the story, weirdly enough) is how obsessively crazy I got after reading book 1. Seriously, guys, I had to have books 2 and 3 IMMEDIATELY. I'm pleased to say that hasn't changed during the reread. Except, well, now I don't have to wait for the books to be delivered, I just have to grab them off my shelf. *bliss*

I love how hard Derek's trying in this book. Not that he wasn't before, but he's using that big, ole brain of his and he's attempting to explain himself a little better instead of just laying down the law. Chloe is unequivocally one of his to protect at this point. He tells her more than once that there's no way he could hurt her and he wouldn't leave her. He shows her that he'd rather put himself in danger than let something happen to her. I LOVE this side of him. He's still dictatorial at times and he can be a grump when he's working things out in his head, but he's the alpha of his little pack and he'll do ANYTHING to keep them safe.

Meanwhile, the twists and turns of who to trust, the bone deep betrayals some of their group experience, and the utterly frightening way their powers appear to be growing make for a fast-paced, completely engrossing read. I loooooove this series. Love it. There's no one thing I can pinpoint as drawing me in, either. It's the characters and their issues and the things that have been done to them and the fact that I love this world to pieces. It's EVERYTHING! It's how things we know about the world from reading the Women of the Otherworld series are just the tiniest bit off kilter because these kids don't have anyone to teach them and they're cobbling together what they think is the truth from bits and pieces that they're picking up. LOVE THAT!

Yes, I am stupidly enamored of the series. What gave it away?

-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal

This is a solid book two, a little more slow-paced than the first book. Armstrong does a good job of developing the growing relationship between Derek and Chloe, bringing the reader along as their connection deepens and grows. Chloe's comparison of films to real life allows Armstrong to poke fun at stereotypical YA and romance tropes. An additional, and brilliant, benefit is that Chloe generally makes highly sensible decisions as a result of her unique analytical skill. Refreshing.

Armstrong continues to take youth readers seriously. She doesn't shy away from the dark or the gross. She gives the characters real problems and a relatively complicated plot. The coming of age metaphors are painful and hit that "I know what this feels like" chord in the reader.

I'm not someone who rereads books very often, but I picked this one up again because my daughter started reading it. We had a great time reading simultaneously. We were able to discuss the plot as it unfolded, the decisions the kids made, what kind of decision she might make in similar situations, and share the humor we most appreciated in the book. She's 11, and the book seemed a good fit for her age. If you aren't sure about your own kid, you might want to give it a quick read first. Chloe is a necromancer who sees creepy unhappy ghosts and raises corpses from the dead. It may not be for all 11 year olds - know your kid. :)

***NOTE MY REVIEWS OFTEN CONTAIN SPOILERS***

Chloe's Aunt Lauren has betrayed her again, returning her to her worst enemy, the Emerson Group. The company for whom she learns Aunt Lauren works. The same company who gathered the children at Lyle House, the children who were all subjects of an experiment in genetic mutation. When Chloe discovers the experiment is considered to have gone dramatically wrong and the company is permanently eliminating the failures who don't fall into line from life, she knows she can't stay in their testing facility no matter how much they attempt to make it hospitable for her. If she stays she'll end up just like Liz a ghost who doesn't even know she's dead. She doesn't know where Derek and Simon are, all that she knows is that Simon's insulin is at the Emerson Group and Simon is not. Not having it could mean severe health issues for Simon, but turning them over to Emerson Group so he can get it could mean death. She has to escape, grab the insulin and find the boys, the question is how? And even if she does manage to escape - what then?

This is my second time reading this novel, the first was before I started blogging and I read all three in this series in the course of a day. At that point I couldn't see their individuality as novels but felt they should have been all in one longer novel. I still believe that they're best read together but now I can see how the storyline does cover enough for the novel to be on its own as a part of a series. The first person tale, told from Chloe's point of view is action packed from beginning to end. What makes it more than just a bunch of action though is seeing it through Chloe's eyes and experiencing her emotional reaction to the changes in her life. When this series started Chloe was a spoiled, sheltered rich girl, like it mentions in the first novel no one had ever hurt her before. Even though Derek hadn't intentionally hurt her, it was the first time that anyone had. Now she's living on the streets not completely sure of what to do next. Her Aunt and the girl she thought was her friend betrayed her, even if they thought what they were doing was right, they'd let her into the hands of the enemy. Her Dad is so worried he's offered a half a million dollars for her return and though he's not involved in the experimentation nor does he have any idea of her abilities he's actually made it worse for her because it's not safe for her to return to her Dad. Edison Group will never let her just go back to her old life and if she did they'd probably eliminate him to get to her. But with the reward on her, it's no longer even safe to hide in the city she grew up in because everyone is looking for her. So everyone this character has ever trusted and depended on, with the exception of Simon and Derek who she still doesn't totally trust, has pretty much stolen all the security out of her life whether intentionally or not. Chloe's character has a lot of growing up to do and she's not doing it sheltered anymore. So with her emotionally slant on the action sequences the story is so much more than just fast paced, it's emotionally gripping. Unfortunately under all this character growth an action, Armstrong has chosen to add just a whispering of the ever popular teen love triangle. You can see interest developing between Chloe and Derek though both would be quick to deny it and then there's Derek's brother Simon who's clearly interested in Chloe and she's slightly interested in him as well. Nothing is really played into because it's neither the time or the place to pursue it, but it's there nonetheless and I'm SOOOOO tired of love triangles. The problem with a realistic love triangle is no one ends up totally happy in the end. The person who loses gets a good case of rejection and possibly a broken heart and the couple who end up together usually end up with a good case of guilt for the guy that lost. I know love triangles happen, but not nearly as much as young adult authors seem to make them appear. So my main issues with this book are the triangle developing and the fact that even though it's got enough content to be a novel it's not something meant to stand alone and without the novels around it, a reader picking it up is likely to spend most of the novel confused. As part of the series it's great, fast paced, good character development, emotionally gripping and well written, but it's not a novel someone can pick up alone and just read and say oh that's an awesome story because without the first book they're missing too much of the background.

Both primary and secondary characters are fairly well developed in this novel. The main character Chloe is of course well developed in a first person narrative, it would be difficult for her not to be. She's got as many strengths as she does weaknesses and is easy to relate to. What's wonderful about her character is how much character growth you get to experience with her throughout this tale. Derek also become better developed in this novel as we get to know him better. I mean the previous novel and short stories do help a lot with understanding his character but even in this novel alone I felt he was extremely well developed. Simon, Tori, Lauren and Rae also get some more fleshing out in this story, and the other secondary characters presents are for the most part distinctive and original.

Overall I would definitely recommend this novel to young adult paranormal readers, but only if they intend to read the entire series and read The Summoning first. Otherwise they just won't get as much enjoyment out of the tale as a series reader would.