Ads 468x60px

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

MICHELLE'S REVIEW: Lullaby by Amanda Hocking

Title: Lullaby
Author: Amanda Hocking
Format Acquired: Hardcover
Publication Date: November 27, 2012
Publishing House: St. Martin's Griffith
ISBN: 9781250005656
Source of Copy: Purchased from National Bookstore

Summary:


Now that Gemma Fisher has inherited Penn, Lexi, and Thea's curse - and all the strange powers that come along with it - she has no choice but to run away with them. Devastated that she has to leave everyone she loves behind, she's still determined not to give in to the unspeakable hungers that plague her. Unfortunately, they're growing stronger every day, and she's not sure how much longer she can resist.

Harper won't give up on finding her sister Gemma, vowing to get her back no matter what the cost. The search draws her closer to too-gorgeous-for-his-own Daniel, and tests her fiercely guarded independence like never before. She's always been the strong one who everyone else depends on... Can she let herself depend on Daniel?

As Gemma and Harper plunger deeper into a magical wold they barely understand, it becomes painfully clear that Gemma's old life may be lost forever. But can she still hold on to her humanity?


(Image and information courtesy of Goodreads; Summary lifted from actual book)

Review:

Having read Amanda Hocking's other books, I can testify to the fact that she only gets better and better. My Blood Approves, the first of the Amanda Hocking books I've read, was a bit cheesy, but hard to put down. (I dropped the series come the fourth book, though.) I have a copy of Hollowland stored in my Kindle app which I have yet to read, and I've already finished the more recent Trylle trilogy, which was pretty good. I think she definitely came a long way from back her My Blood Approves days.

Lullaby is the sequel to Wake (which my co-blogger surprisingly didn't enjoy; check out her review here). Forced to go with the Sirens, Gemma had to leave the people she loved most behind to keep them from being harmed. But her sister Harper and boyfriend Alex are nevertheless, determined to find her. Helping them to recover Gemma is darling Daniel, who might just somehow manage to convince Harper to let down her guard. And when something involving Gemma goes awry, it's up to Harper and the boys to save Gemma from a fate that can only end in death.

I like Hocking's characters. With her other books, I felt like they were just people who undoubtedly had to exist. But with this cast of characters, I could totally imagine them as actual people, especially Harper. She and Gemma may not be the closest sisters, but when push comes to shove, Harper would gladly step in front of a speeding bullet train for her sister. Harper is so used to taking care of the people around her that she ends up getting rankled when people are trying to take care of her. Daniel was obviously a cutie pie who embodies everything that Harper is not. It was really fun watching her getting flustered over Daniel, and there were a lot of times I just wanted to bonk their heads together and get on with it. I have clearly moved on from the Gemma and Alex relationship, because while it was cute in the first book, I didn't mind them so much in the second. 

Plot-wise, however, it was a bit muddy towards the end of the book. I obviously could not say much without spoiling something, but it did make me keep re-reading the section because I didn't get it. I was expecting something bigger to happen, and clearly, it was mounting to that, but then it fizzled just as quickly as it had come. With that being said, I am looking forward to reading Tidal, not only because I want to figure out how Hocking will handle the little 'twist', but because I want more Harper and Daniel scenes.


Rating:
        

No comments:

Post a Comment