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worldsunlikeourown's review against another edition
4.0
Sparks of Light picks up two months after the first book. Hope and her friends have returned from their mission to medieval England and have had quite a few narrow shaves. The threat of Celia still lurks though and when Bran brings news of her latest plot, the crew heads to New York in the Gilded Age to meet none other than Nikola Tesla with the aim of destroying a device that he is making.
While the setting is not quite as fun as 12th century England, the historical happenings and people are worked into the plot perfectly. This book also provides some interesting and unfortunately accurate insights into how issues such as racism and mental health were regarded in late 19th century New York. The scenes in the asylum were actually rather scary, and made for a rather intense arc of the story.
I liked Into the Dim a lot more than this one, but despite the fact that I still wasn't all that invested in the main character Hope, this was a fun read and an exciting adventure.
While the setting is not quite as fun as 12th century England, the historical happenings and people are worked into the plot perfectly. This book also provides some interesting and unfortunately accurate insights into how issues such as racism and mental health were regarded in late 19th century New York. The scenes in the asylum were actually rather scary, and made for a rather intense arc of the story.
I liked Into the Dim a lot more than this one, but despite the fact that I still wasn't all that invested in the main character Hope, this was a fun read and an exciting adventure.
ladytiara's review against another edition
4.0
Sparks of Light is the sequel to Into the Dim, a book about a secret society of time travelers. I really enjoyed Into the Dim, and Sparks of Light is a worthy sequel.
Our heroine, Hope Walton, is recovering from her terrible experiences in 12th century London. She's found a home with her mother's family in the Scottish Highlands, and she's taken her place in the Viators, the group of time travelers. Her mother and baby sister are safely back in the 21st century, although her mother is suffering from PTSD from the trauma she experienced while stuck in the 12th century. Hope's love interest Bran shows up to alert the Viators that his evil mother, the Viator's nemesis Celia, is plotting to get her hands on a device from 1895 that could give her enormous time-traveling power, something the Viators want to prevent.
The book gets into the action very quickly, and Hope and friends are soon on their way back to 1895 in New York City, at the height of the Gilded Age. Hope poses as a wealthy heiress and stays at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, where she meets such real life socialites as Consuelo and Alva Vanderbilt and the inventor Nikola Tesla. The author has clearly done her research, and I really enjoyed her descriptions of 1895 New York, where the Viators see everything from dire poverty to unimaginable splendor.
Things quickly go wrong, and some of the party are trapped in a mental institution. This part of the book is particularly harrowing. Mental health care in the late 19th century is not for the faint of heart, and the "treatments" are horrible. Some of the patients are genuinely ill, but many of them seem to be perfectly healthy people who have been shut away for being "inconvenient." Mental health care in the 21st century still has a long way to go, but it's light years ahead of the supposedly scientific treatments of the late 19th century. As awful as the hospital is, it's a private hospital with some semblance of luxury. I can only imagine how awful a public hospital would have been at this time. The book really makes it clear that being a woman at this time was pretty awful (and it's also not a good time for the one POC member of the team, Doug, who experiences some virulent racism).
I did have a few issues with the book. A new character is introduced, Gabriella. She's an old friend of Bran's, and although Bran shows nothing beyond friendly feelings for her, Hope is instantly insanely jealous of her. Gabriella shows up at the beginning and the end of the book, and she's really underdeveloped. Also, Hope is still mad at her mother for keeping so many secrets from her during her childhood, but this isn't really explored. I would have liked to see a scene where Hope and her mother hash things out. The villain from the first book, Celia, is spoken of often, but she never appears on the page, and we meet some new villains instead. The new villains only show up near the end, and we don't know much about them, so they felt a little weak compared with Celia in the first book. But these are all minor complaints, and I imagine these issues might be resolved in the next book.
Overall, I really enjoyed Sparks of Light, and it made me feel very happy that I wasn't a woman living in 1895.
I received an ARC from Amazon Vine.
Our heroine, Hope Walton, is recovering from her terrible experiences in 12th century London. She's found a home with her mother's family in the Scottish Highlands, and she's taken her place in the Viators, the group of time travelers. Her mother and baby sister are safely back in the 21st century, although her mother is suffering from PTSD from the trauma she experienced while stuck in the 12th century. Hope's love interest Bran shows up to alert the Viators that his evil mother, the Viator's nemesis Celia, is plotting to get her hands on a device from 1895 that could give her enormous time-traveling power, something the Viators want to prevent.
The book gets into the action very quickly, and Hope and friends are soon on their way back to 1895 in New York City, at the height of the Gilded Age. Hope poses as a wealthy heiress and stays at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, where she meets such real life socialites as Consuelo and Alva Vanderbilt and the inventor Nikola Tesla. The author has clearly done her research, and I really enjoyed her descriptions of 1895 New York, where the Viators see everything from dire poverty to unimaginable splendor.
Things quickly go wrong, and some of the party are trapped in a mental institution. This part of the book is particularly harrowing. Mental health care in the late 19th century is not for the faint of heart, and the "treatments" are horrible. Some of the patients are genuinely ill, but many of them seem to be perfectly healthy people who have been shut away for being "inconvenient." Mental health care in the 21st century still has a long way to go, but it's light years ahead of the supposedly scientific treatments of the late 19th century. As awful as the hospital is, it's a private hospital with some semblance of luxury. I can only imagine how awful a public hospital would have been at this time. The book really makes it clear that being a woman at this time was pretty awful (and it's also not a good time for the one POC member of the team, Doug, who experiences some virulent racism).
I did have a few issues with the book. A new character is introduced, Gabriella. She's an old friend of Bran's, and although Bran shows nothing beyond friendly feelings for her, Hope is instantly insanely jealous of her. Gabriella shows up at the beginning and the end of the book, and she's really underdeveloped. Also, Hope is still mad at her mother for keeping so many secrets from her during her childhood, but this isn't really explored. I would have liked to see a scene where Hope and her mother hash things out. The villain from the first book, Celia, is spoken of often, but she never appears on the page, and we meet some new villains instead. The new villains only show up near the end, and we don't know much about them, so they felt a little weak compared with Celia in the first book. But these are all minor complaints, and I imagine these issues might be resolved in the next book.
Overall, I really enjoyed Sparks of Light, and it made me feel very happy that I wasn't a woman living in 1895.
I received an ARC from Amazon Vine.
books4susie's review against another edition
4.0
I read the first book in this series 18 months ago and I’ll admit, it took me awhile to get back into Hope’s world. I remembered the gist of the story but there were some details I didn’t recall until they were mentioned in the book and sometimes I still was a bit lost. I love the historical time-traveling plot but wasn’t sure what aspects of 1895 the author would touch on. Let’s just say that I was literally on the edge of my seat for about 100 pages for Hope’s escape from a situation she was forced into. The ending is a bit heartbreaking but I cannot wait to see what time period the Viators are thrust into for what seems to be a thrilling conclusion to this story.
Publication date and title of book three are unknown at this time.
Publication date and title of book three are unknown at this time.
lpcoolgirl's review against another edition
5.0
Oh, this was such a great read, though it is sad that we probably won't get book 3, since it's now 2024 and I can't find any news about it.
bibliohannah's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
I'm so disappointed in this book. I felt like Into the Dim was so amazing for me and this one fell a little short. I think the atmosphere of the book changed a lot, and instead of exploring the history and time period we were left dealing with a plot point that, I feel, didn't need to be developed. However, if any more books come out in the series I will read them, since Into the Dim was awesome.
I'm so disappointed in this book. I felt like Into the Dim was so amazing for me and this one fell a little short. I think the atmosphere of the book changed a lot, and instead of exploring the history and time period we were left dealing with a plot point that, I feel, didn't need to be developed. However, if any more books come out in the series I will read them, since Into the Dim was awesome.
briawnah's review against another edition
3.0
If I could give this 3.5 starts, I would. It’s not as good as the first one, but still an excellent plot. As with most sequels, this one had more of Hope and Bran’s back story, as well as some clarification about key players in the story. It didn’t hold my attention to the same degree as the first book. But “middle” books in a series don’t often have the same level of suspense. Well-written and great characters.
amandareadsmore's review against another edition
3.0
THERE HAS TO BE ANOTHER BOOK! that cliffhanger was too much...
overall, I liked into the dim so much more than sparks of light. I was sucked into the storyline of into the dim from the very start but with sparks of light, i wasn't invested in the story until halfway through. then my heart got ripped out of my chest only to have a cliffhanger ending. I need to know what happens next!!!
overall, I liked into the dim so much more than sparks of light. I was sucked into the storyline of into the dim from the very start but with sparks of light, i wasn't invested in the story until halfway through. then my heart got ripped out of my chest only to have a cliffhanger ending. I need to know what happens next!!!
hijinx_abound's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed the first book more. It was an interesting story but there was something slightly off in the structure. The characters are still fleshed out and the search for the stone is still fascinating.