Snowtulip's Corner of the World

Despair...that is what I feel.

This is a hard book...emotionally, it strips you down.

You want a glimmer of hope so badly, which makes you ache because you are feeling what these characters are.

Raven and Pegasus, how much I love these characters, how much their actions made me cringe or made me so deeply sad.

This book is definitely not for everyone, it starts dark and gets darker with every page, there is no happy here.

It was hard to read, it was hard not to read.

So I reread this again last night and must say that my review below still holds because i mentally thought that somehow book three would appear when i was done...alas, it didn't happen.

First review:

Kill.Me.Now...how did I not know that there is another book after this that's not available yet!!! I read into the weee hours of the night because I was riveted and now I must wait...*sigh*

Seriously, this book was stronger than volume one and just captured me with the layers of political maneuvering, world building, character development and slow burn.

Like book one, the start of the story didn't grab me for some time. Also like book one, suddenly it hooked me and I couldn't stop reading :D

Secrets upon secrets keep building in this story. There are some questions that are answered, but they are answers to questions that you didn't even know existed!

Neil's dissociation completely intrigues me, and I love seeing those shimmers of hope for him. Heartbreaking moments throughout the story.

The story continues to read like a mystery, with Neil's survival the ultimate goal.

Can't wait to see Andrew again after everything that's happened and I'm looking forward to book three.

Why do we usually watch an action flick? Not for it's amazing story line or life changing dialogue...it's for pure entertainment. Smoke and Shadows was pure entertainment...yes, you had to suspend reality, but Tony and the cast of characters kept me entertained.

Tony is a character I really grew to like and I so wanted to know who he would pursue in the long run, would it be Henry, Lee or Zed...but this wasn't a romance, so this was not an issue to be resolved in the end. Fun read

So this story did have a formula that is tried and true, and admittedly sometimes that can get a little old. For me, this story worked and I think it's more to do with potential than anything. I want to know about Alec and Grier's past (which we don't really find much out in this story), I want to see how the new regime works out, there is so much I want to know.

Keeping that in mind, the story should have been longer so I could find those things out, so I'm hoping for a sequel to quell my needs. I enjoyed the interactions between Alec and Grier and could feel that bond developing through the quick banter (oh, how I love banter). Overall, a solid read

I love seeing all the ways to make Booklikes easier to use and prettier too :D  But I've discovered that I must be lazy, because thinking about importing my books, understanding spoilers, etc. is just to much for me to do!

I'm going to wait for the day I feel productive (and creative) and just curl up and read a good book, any recommendations???