Hey Readers,
I apologize for this over a month long hiatus. I've been having severe writer's block and a lack of motivation. As a young writer, I'm sure many can relate. I've also been trying to work on some book writing projects. Again, its been hard. I have another review to write, which usually doesn't stress me but lately it has been. These two reviews have been long overdue, since I've read these books over a month ago. It doesn't help that the events aren't as fresh in my mind as they usually are. I do my best to write reviews immediately after reading a book, as one technically should for a more effective review. I'm starting to wonder if I should take notes, just in case a long bout of writer's block mixed with a lack of motivation strikes me again. We shall see. However, thank you to all of you who DO read my reviews. I appreciate it so much. Even if I have one reader, it's a huge motivation. I hope to be more consistent. I went to BookCon last month, which I should have blogged about. I got to meet YA author Marie Lu, who has written the Legend trilogy and The Young Elites trilogy. She was so gracious and cool. I also got to sit in on two panels and see Leigh Bardugo and Holly Black on one of them. They were HILARIOUS! A perfect pair to see talk together. They were so inspiring and down to Earth. The second panel I got to see V.E. Schwab, Susan Dennard, and Cora Carmack. All who I've either read their books, or in Cora's case, about to read. They were just as fantastic as Leigh and Holly. I got so many books. Sadly, I didn't get the arcs that I wanted, but I chalk it up to a first-timers learning experience. I originally said I wouldn't do it again because I was in my feelings about certain things at the event, but now that time has passed that has changed. I look forward to doing BookCon again next year, and I'll cross my fingers and send up a prayer for a more fruitful experience (book arc wise). Also, it pains me to say I haven't read anything in the time I took off from writing. It was a personal decision because I didn't want my book reviews to pile up, but I miss reading so much. Hopefully after I write my next book review, which should be later today, I'll finally sit down and read Cora Carmack's Roar. I'm looking forward to it.
Book: Seeker
Author: Veronica Rossi
Pages: 352
Published: May 16th, 2017
Publisher: Tor Teen
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Seeker takes place 8 months later after the events of Riders. Rossi switches it up in this installment by having a new POV, which is Daryn's. If you've read the first book you will know that it was told in Gideon's perspective, so it was a nice added addition. We ended Riders with Bas being stuck in another realm called the rift. He's a prisoner of the evil demon Samrael. Daryn is in a dark place, wrapped in her own inner turmoil of what happened to Bas. She feels responsible. Worse, her premonition "sight" is gone and she feels helpless. The only remnant of Bas' existence is his horse Shadow, who Daryn now possesses. Here's the synopsis below:
When Daryn claimed she was seeing “visions” during her sophomore year of high school, no one believed the truth. She wasn’t losing her mind, she was gaining the Sight―the ability to see the future. If she just paid attention to the visions, they’d provide her with clues and show her how she could help people. Really help them. Daryn embraced her role as a Seeker. The work she did was important. She saved lives.
Until Sebastian.
Sebastian was her first―and worst―mistake.
Since the moment she inadvertently sealed him in a dark dimension with Samrael―the last surviving demon in the Kindred―guilt has plagued her. Daryn knows Sebastian is alive and waiting for help. It’s up to her to rescue him. But now that she needs the Sight more than ever to guide her, the visions have stopped.
Daryn must rely on her instincts, her intelligence, and on blind faith to lead the riders who are counting on her in search of Sebastian. As they delve into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems and where Samrael is steadily amassing power, Daryn faces the ultimate test. Will she have to become evil to destroy evil? The very fate of humankind rests in the answer.
A perfect set up of a catch-22 that Rossi provides us is that the Riders, Jode, Gideon, and Marcus are desperate to save Bas. However, they need Daryn's help. Frustratingly enough, Daryn is doing all she can to avoid them because she believes they blame her for Bas' captivity. Throughout the book, it made me feel so helpless as a reader to see how much Daryn and Gideon thought of each other, but were not able to come to a place early on to reconcile their feelings about the events of book one.
The dual POV first person narrative between Gideon and Daryn was spectacular. While there were a few moments that it was hard to differentiate the two due to their similar take on humor, Daryn's perspective had more angst than Gideon's. His was more driven by constant episodes of anger. The fault I have with this installment is the lack of air time that Jode and Marcus get. They seem very secondary compared to their roles in Riders. Bas has a bigger role than they do in this installment and you tend to forget about them when Bas is mentioned. I was so engulfed with Bas' plight that it was hard to focus on the other two riders. Jode was never my favorite, however Marcus intrigued me. It would have been cool to hear more from him and even have a POV of him. Without going into too many details, while in the rift the riders begin to see items from their past pop up. They don't know how or why until later on, but it was a great addition to the story. It made the story feel ominous and foreboding. It was also a nice touch on Rossi's part with adding those things to build on each character. Some are explained, and some aren't. Whether it's important or not, I believe Rossi left it up to the reader. These items that pop up each have a story, but it's infuriating at times not to know Marcus' and Jode's. Since Marcus is one of my favorite characters from the series, his story of the item that pops up would have been quite the telling tale I'm sure.
The truly compelling and unique aspect of the book, or should I say this duology, are the fiesty and often comical personalities of the horses. The connections they have with their rider is powerful and vibrate. Shadow of course is my favorite. I believe it's hard as a writer to make an animal have a personality like a human. We all know that they do have one, but somtimes it's hard to convey through writing. The fact that the horses are just as important as their human counterparts, makes it even more significant to do their scenes justice. Rossi rises to the ocassion for the second time around, and continues their dynamic personalities and builds on those interactions with eachother and their human riders.
Seeker is a fast-paced addition, chock full of plot twists. While it doesn't have the same kind of plot twist that Riders left, that's in part due to this being a duology and not a trilogy. This was a great installment but I can't help but feel an urge of wanting. I want another book, more of Marcus and his story, and in light of all that Daryn learned about herself in the rift, I feel like we need another book. The last chapter wasn't enough to give me closure, which is a gripe for me. Other than that, this story was compelling enough, full of interesting dialogue, and had intricate fantastical creatures. Seek out Riders, an epic debut to this duology before diving into Seeker. There's something for everyone in this book.
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