[Review: Fractured by Sarah Fine]

"Fractured"
Author: Sarah Fine
Series: Guards of the Shadowlands #2
Pages: 357
Genre: YA, Paranormal, Horror
Date Published: October 29th, 2013
Publisher: Skyscape
Format Read: ARC

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Summary:

In the week since Lela returned to Rhode Island as Captain of the Guard with Malachi as her second in command, local news has been dominated by chilling sightings of human-like creatures running on all fours. Lela knows there’s only one explanation: the Mazikin have arrived in the land of the living.

Needing to maintain the appearance of a normal life for her foster mother, her probation officer, and her classmates, Lela returns to Warwick High along with Malachi. At night they secretly hunt for the Mazikin nest. To assist, two new Guards from very different parts of the Shadowlands are assigned to Lela’s unit, including the bad boy Jim, who repeatedly challenges Lela's authority. Lela struggles to keep all her Guards on the right side of the law, but their mistakes come at a terrible cost.

As one painful revelation follows another and the Mazikin start targeting those closest to her, Lela finds herself more vulnerable than she’s ever been, wanting a future more than she ever has. With an enemy determined to separate soul from body, one question remains: how much is she willing to sacrifice to protect those she loves?

-Goodreads

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My Thoughts:

Just as a warning: this review may contain Sanctum spoilers...

 

My mind is still reeling.  I'm not sure how to feel about what I just read and yet I can tell you that I loved it.  100% LOVED IT!  Fractured is one of the strongest "middle books" that I've ever read.  It keeps you connected to the characters that you already love and introduces some awesome new ones at the same time.  Seriously, I want to give Fine some mad props for writing the things that happened in this book, even if I wanted to throw it across the room when I was done with it.  That ending... and that beginning and that middle, but really that ending.  I wish I could tell you, but I can't!  I also wish I could read the 3rd book right now.  I need to know all the things and mend my heart...

Sanctum was my favorite read of last year and so needless to say I couldn't wait to dig into Fractured and I wasn't disappointed, not even a little bit.  I wondered how Fine was going to keep the tension going this time around.  The first book takes place behind The Suicide Gates, which was a terrifying world straight out of Fine's imagination.  Fractured comes at you from the normal American city of Rhode Island.  There were so many things that could have gone wrong, but Fine showed us a Rhode Island that was just as heart-poundingly scary as the dark world she created previously.  I honestly don't know which setting freaked me out more and that speaks volumes about Fine's story telling.  She wraps menacing details into real world happenings in a way that makes you glance over your shoulder to make sure no one is there.

There is something about the emotional place that all of the characters in Fractured are in that keeps you on edge.  They are all mourning someone and it's a brilliant plot tool.  It makes the moments of happiness extremely happy and yet bittersweet and the other moments just make you wanna curl up in a ball and cry till you have no more tears left in your body.  Even though Nadia (the whole reason for Lela going into The Suicide Gates to begin with) isn't there in the flesh, she still has a place in the book and I really appreciated that.

Oh gosh, it was so good to hang out with Lela and Malachi again.  There are a lot of feels for these two in my soul.  Both as individuals and as a couple.  Fine continues to build their characters and flesh them out even more this time around.  I didn't know that was possible, but apparently it is!  Putting Lela in a position of power really worked for her and also added a touch of something a little harder to her vulnerable side.  She is a brilliant character!   

And the new characters were awesome as well.  We got a good mix of Guards and normal teenage persons.  Henry and Jim add so much to the story.  Jim's cockiness and nativity was a really cool mixture and Henry was a loyal Guard under Lela's command.  And then we got Tegan and Ian.  I have to admit that as much as I love me some Malachi, Ian was an awesome character and I could see him with Lela too.  (No there isn't really a love triangle, don't worry)  It was also nice to see Lela interacting with a girly girl.  I felt like we got to see what her relationship with Nadia was like once she and Tegan started to become friends.  Once again, clever story telling at it's best!

So can you tell that I have nothing bad to say about this book?  It even had kick ass gadgets and legit, high action, fight scenes.  Oh and Angels and the creepiest villains ever.  Honestly, if the Mazikin don't scare the crap out of you, then you just might be one yourself.  I highly suggest this series to everyone.  I really don't know why everyone on the planet isn't talking about it?  Read these books!  Snag the first one and pre-order Fractured, trust me, you're gonna wanna pick it up as soon as you've read Sanctum!

Rating:

 5 Unicorns = Get your hands on this now!  Or on the 29th!  

[Review: Sanctum by Sarah Fine]

"Sanctum"
Author: Sarah Fine
Series: Guards of the Shadowlands #1
Pages: 433
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal, Horror
Date Published: October 16th, 2012
Publisher: Amazon Children's Publishing
Format Read: Purchased eBook

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Summary:

“My plan: Get into the city. Get Nadia. Find a way out. Simple.”

A week ago, seventeen-year-old Lela Santos’s best friend, Nadia, killed herself. Today, thanks to a farewell ritual gone awry, Lela is standing in paradise, looking upon a vast gated city in the distance—hell. No one willingly walks through the Suicide Gates, into a place smothered in darkness and infested with depraved creatures. But Lela isn’t just anyone—she’s determined to save her best friend’s soul, even if it means sacrificing her eternal afterlife.

As Lela struggles to find Nadia, she’s captured by the Guards, enormous, not-quite-human creatures that patrol the dark city’s endless streets. Their all-too-human leader, Malachi, is unlike them in every way except one: his deadly efficiency. When he meets Lela, Malachi forms his own plan: get her out of the city, even if it means she must leave Nadia behind. Malachi knows something Lela doesn’t—the dark city isn’t the worst place Lela could end up, and he will stop at nothing to keep her from that fate.

-Goodreads

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My Thoughts:

 Sanctum is one of the most unique and thought provoking books I have read in a long time. I honestly wish that I could write this review riddled with spoilers, just so that I could get all of my thoughts out there, out of my own head. I won't though and the reason why is a clear one. I tend to always be able to tell you what is going to happen at the end of a book by the time I reach the middle of it. It's both a blessing and a curse, but Sanctum kept me guessing what was going to happen till the very last page. And why in hell's name would I want to spoil that magic for you?

Firstly, Sarah Fine is a masterful world builder. What lies beyond the suicide gates is terrifying and yet has an air of also being comforting in some very odd ways. You feel as if you have been dragged through those gates along with the characters and that you are fighting, bleeding, and exploring yourself right alongside them. The thing that is so spectacular about the world which Fine creates is all in the details. Yes, the big flashy parts of the worlds pull you in, but it's the small things that keep you interested! From the habitation of apartments to the tattoos on people’s bodies to the interior of the dark tower. She also references “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and I’m a huge fan of anything that Joss Whedon touches, so well done there!

It’s no secret that the book deals with suicide. It lets you know that right on the flap of the book, but it’s the way that Sarah Fine deals with this seriously heartbreaking issue that makes me want to stand up and cheer. There is a hopefulness to this book, even when things seem so dire, so odd and so sad. It’s the way she describes the world that these people end up in that allows you to hope that no one you know ever has to deal with this and gives you hope for the ones that do. It’s as beautiful and it is bloodthirsty and that’s a hard balance to master and Sarah Fine has done it in spades!

And the characters don’t get me started about the characters. Lela and Malachi will soon (if they already aren’t) be on everyone’s minds. I loved both of their personalities, their strengths and their weaknesses. They seemed real and tangible. Like friends that you wish you could have and defiantly the friends you would want beside you while being behind the suicide gates. I also appreciated that Fine didn’t stray away from her secondary characters. Nadia and Ana were just as well imagined as the main characters. I especially loved Ana’s character. She was a feisty little thing. Plus, the vehicle of the romance actually helped develop the characters well. For the most part it didn’t detract us from the story line and also gave us some much needed brakes from what was actually going on in the plot.

I honestly could keep going on and on about this book, but that would mean that you would still be here reading what I have to say about the book, instead of actually going out there and getting your hands on a copy. And that would be truly sad. Go, go now and get your hands on this true gem of a novel. You have no idea how badly I want to get my hands on book two!

Rating: