artsymusings's review
4.0
Fractures Soul begins with Llona's first day at Lucent Academy and even though there's only a slight chance of things getting back to normal, Llona knows her life wouldn't ever be the same. Her plan is simple: to learn more about the nature and history of Aura, hone her abilities and get out of world the Auras has chosen to live in. However, she is yet unknown to the danger that threatens to wipe out Auras and it seems that trouble has followed Llona inside the protected walls of The Lucent Academy.
The stakes are higher especially when the ones responsible for the safety of Auras are willing to sacrifice it for personal gains. Llona has her own demons to deal with as darkness calls to her, a hunger lodged deep inside her and the smell of blood everywhere. It is no surprise when Llona plans to sneak out at night unable to get rid of her nightmares.
Llona craves destruction and her need to get rid of the energy buzzing inside of her leads her to Vykens present close to Lucent. Llona fights the blood battles despite warnings from Jackson, a Guardian. Christian also arrives but Sophia is against their relationship and makes it clear so. Despite the dangerous ground she is treading upon with him, Llona knows he means too much to her to lose him. Thus, she eventually takes Liam's offer to help the light within her come to life again.
Rebellious as ever, Llona has to overcome the difficulties she is faced with. Fractured Soul fits perfectly to Llona's state in this book as she tethers on the edge of darkness. Threats are given, secrets revealed and hearts are broken as it becomes clear that something big is going on. With the help of Christian, Liam, Tessa and May, Llona sets out to fight the danger, loving the thrill it offers to a showdown and another life-changing moment in Llona's life.
Will she ever find salvation and come to peace with herself? Fractured Soul shows a new side of Llona, but she is consistent with her rebellious streak which is what I love about her. This is one tough nut to break. Fractured Soul is a very satisfying continuation of the series and I'm more than looking forward to how it will end. Three cheers to Rachel McClellan for crafting a yet another brilliant story.
The stakes are higher especially when the ones responsible for the safety of Auras are willing to sacrifice it for personal gains. Llona has her own demons to deal with as darkness calls to her, a hunger lodged deep inside her and the smell of blood everywhere. It is no surprise when Llona plans to sneak out at night unable to get rid of her nightmares.
Llona craves destruction and her need to get rid of the energy buzzing inside of her leads her to Vykens present close to Lucent. Llona fights the blood battles despite warnings from Jackson, a Guardian. Christian also arrives but Sophia is against their relationship and makes it clear so. Despite the dangerous ground she is treading upon with him, Llona knows he means too much to her to lose him. Thus, she eventually takes Liam's offer to help the light within her come to life again.
Rebellious as ever, Llona has to overcome the difficulties she is faced with. Fractured Soul fits perfectly to Llona's state in this book as she tethers on the edge of darkness. Threats are given, secrets revealed and hearts are broken as it becomes clear that something big is going on. With the help of Christian, Liam, Tessa and May, Llona sets out to fight the danger, loving the thrill it offers to a showdown and another life-changing moment in Llona's life.
Will she ever find salvation and come to peace with herself? Fractured Soul shows a new side of Llona, but she is consistent with her rebellious streak which is what I love about her. This is one tough nut to break. Fractured Soul is a very satisfying continuation of the series and I'm more than looking forward to how it will end. Three cheers to Rachel McClellan for crafting a yet another brilliant story.
bookishanjali's review
5.0
I am really loving this series so far and can definitely say I loved the second book way more then the first. Fractured Soul pretty much starts up where Fractured Light left off. Llona and May are at Lucent Academy and even though May is fitting in perfectly being a rare Fury and all, Llona is not. And I don't blame her for not fitting in, her fellow auras are pretty brainwashed and in need of some reality check.
The plot was actually more gripping then in the previous book, we still have the Vykens trying to kill the auras and feed off their blood but there are so many new twists in Fractured Soul I couldn't stop turning the pages.
Llona is also changing physically thanks to that bite she got from the Vyken in the previous book, she is a whole lot stronger and bad ass. We also meet these new creatures called Lizens who are practically the auras slaves in my opinion since they work for free for them and aren't treated all that great by the stuck up auras at the academy, one of them named Tessa ends up being a really great friend to Llona. We also meet a new character name Liam who is from what I can sum up about over a hundred years old or so anyways he has a pretty tortured soul which was interesting to get to know and I can see myself liking him to where I wouldn't mind if he ends up with Llona. Although don't worry there was no love triangle Llona's heart is all for Christian in this book.
I really give it to McClellan for having Llona grow so much as a character. I saw such a change in her from the first book all the way to the end of this second book. She has become such a strong person, even with all the death around her. Speaking of death I love McClellan for not being afraid to take such huge risks in her books like killing off a key character in the first book and in THIS one also except this time it was someone who I was not expecting at all, I mean from all the characters I just ...wow yea couldn't believe it..still having a hard time really. The ending is just downright heartbreaking, brutal, vicious you name it. All I know is I have to get my hands on the next book asap.
There was a lot of bloodshed and kick ass fighting in Fractured Soul, Llona is not a weak character by far along with her best friend May. I would love it if McCllelan did a novella of May or heck even a spin off after this series cause she is just as interesting of a character as Llona. Anyways this book was amazing and I highly recommend it if you haven't figured it out by now :)
The plot was actually more gripping then in the previous book, we still have the Vykens trying to kill the auras and feed off their blood but there are so many new twists in Fractured Soul I couldn't stop turning the pages.
Llona is also changing physically thanks to that bite she got from the Vyken in the previous book, she is a whole lot stronger and bad ass. We also meet these new creatures called Lizens who are practically the auras slaves in my opinion since they work for free for them and aren't treated all that great by the stuck up auras at the academy, one of them named Tessa ends up being a really great friend to Llona. We also meet a new character name Liam who is from what I can sum up about over a hundred years old or so anyways he has a pretty tortured soul which was interesting to get to know and I can see myself liking him to where I wouldn't mind if he ends up with Llona. Although don't worry there was no love triangle Llona's heart is all for Christian in this book.
I really give it to McClellan for having Llona grow so much as a character. I saw such a change in her from the first book all the way to the end of this second book. She has become such a strong person, even with all the death around her. Speaking of death I love McClellan for not being afraid to take such huge risks in her books like killing off a key character in the first book and in THIS one also except this time it was someone who I was not expecting at all, I mean from all the characters I just ...wow yea couldn't believe it..still having a hard time really. The ending is just downright heartbreaking, brutal, vicious you name it. All I know is I have to get my hands on the next book asap.
There was a lot of bloodshed and kick ass fighting in Fractured Soul, Llona is not a weak character by far along with her best friend May. I would love it if McCllelan did a novella of May or heck even a spin off after this series cause she is just as interesting of a character as Llona. Anyways this book was amazing and I highly recommend it if you haven't figured it out by now :)
ghumpherys's review
3.0
3.5 stars. I didn't like this book quite as much as the first one, but it was still an enjoyable read. I'm not sure what to think about some of the events at the end of the book -- I'll wait until I've read the third one to decide. I did like the idea of the internal battle of light vs. dark.
ctorretta's review
4.0
This starts straight from Book one, Fractured Light. Now, you don’t HAVE to read Fractured Light to understand book two but I really believe it added so much to the characters. I was able to really get to know them and I am so glad that I took the time to read the first.
Right away I knew I was going to enjoy this one. Llona is stronger, but definitely not at her peak. She still has so much to learn. The school is exactly as she thought it would be, which really annoyed me. Nobody gave her a chance and she was already struggling to fit in.
Thankfully May, who found out in book one that she is a Fury, is with her and is allowed to attend the school. I really love this gal. She is definitely a ton of fun and still gave Llona the friendship that she so desperately needs. Since the school is full of up tight wenches, there are quite a few characters that I just simply do NOT like. But it doesn’t take away from the plot at all, it actually adds to the push and pull that Llona is starting to feel.
And the plot in this one really, really moves. It doesn’t have a point where Llona isn’t fighting, and it’s fabulous. It literally took me half a day to read this because I just simply had to know what was going to happen next.
This is another story where you’re not sure exactly who to trust and by the end I wasn’t trusting anyone! There were definitely some tearful moments but the ending was perfect and I was so excited to find a sneak peek of Fractured Truth! I can not wait for this one to come out.
After a slow start with Fractured Light, a great middle second with Fractured Soul, I think that Fractured Truth will be an awesome read!
Right away I knew I was going to enjoy this one. Llona is stronger, but definitely not at her peak. She still has so much to learn. The school is exactly as she thought it would be, which really annoyed me. Nobody gave her a chance and she was already struggling to fit in.
Thankfully May, who found out in book one that she is a Fury, is with her and is allowed to attend the school. I really love this gal. She is definitely a ton of fun and still gave Llona the friendship that she so desperately needs. Since the school is full of up tight wenches, there are quite a few characters that I just simply do NOT like. But it doesn’t take away from the plot at all, it actually adds to the push and pull that Llona is starting to feel.
And the plot in this one really, really moves. It doesn’t have a point where Llona isn’t fighting, and it’s fabulous. It literally took me half a day to read this because I just simply had to know what was going to happen next.
This is another story where you’re not sure exactly who to trust and by the end I wasn’t trusting anyone! There were definitely some tearful moments but the ending was perfect and I was so excited to find a sneak peek of Fractured Truth! I can not wait for this one to come out.
After a slow start with Fractured Light, a great middle second with Fractured Soul, I think that Fractured Truth will be an awesome read!
seeingnight's review
4.0
GENRE: YA Fantasy
THEME: Romance, Urban Fantasy
RECEIVED: Tour
BLOG: http://seeingnight.blogspot.com/
REVIEW:
As much as I loved the first book Fractured Light, I feel I was able to connect more to Llona in Fractured Soul. There was so much more happening with the plot that was wonderfully crafted by McClellan.
Fractured Soul once again follows Llona, a girl who is half guardian and half aura like her parents, who were tragically taken from her. She is now trying to adjust to a semi normal life at the Lucent Academy, but darkness is not far from her as the Vykens (vampire like) are growing and Llona will stop at nothing to protect her friends and school.
Llona is still strong as ever; she of course is nothing like the rest of the Aura’s at the academy. The Aura’s have been trained to never fight and live a peaceful life. But with the dangers of the Vyken’s, she tries so hard to convince her aunt Sophie about her concerns. But in the end her aunt only wants her to be like the rest of the girls, Llona will never be like them, as she seeks out the Vykens and wants to fight. After she killed the Vyken in the first book you can see a difference in her as she is seeking for a battle, you may question why she seems to have this hunger to fight.
This time the mystery is intensified as to why the numbers are growing among the Vykens and what is really happening at the Aura’s blood bank. I always love a little mystery and I felt it added a lot of suspense around all the battle scenes. In the end Llona always has help with her old friends May and love interest Christian, along with two new friends Liam and Tessa. Christian and Llona relationship may be forbidden especially in the eyes of her aunt, but they know that they mean too much to each other to deny it.
In the end I really enjoyed the action packed aspect, it was filled with romance and tension that will keep the readers wanting more and always questioning will good be able to stop evil. There is so much growth for Llona, I feel her character will always be the rebel to everyone who doesn’t understand what she has gone through. This was definitely a major step up from the first book with new creatures introduced, challenges for Llona besides the Vykens, and more protectors that I can’t wait to read more about. After the ending, which was a bit of a sucker punch but really made me wish the next book were out!
RECOMMENDATION:
This is a young adult book that you’ll never want to put down. Fans of Jennifer Esteps Mythos Academy series and Jennifer Armentrouts Covenant series will want to get their hands on Rachel McClellans Fractured Light.
THEME: Romance, Urban Fantasy
RECEIVED: Tour
BLOG: http://seeingnight.blogspot.com/
REVIEW:
As much as I loved the first book Fractured Light, I feel I was able to connect more to Llona in Fractured Soul. There was so much more happening with the plot that was wonderfully crafted by McClellan.
Fractured Soul once again follows Llona, a girl who is half guardian and half aura like her parents, who were tragically taken from her. She is now trying to adjust to a semi normal life at the Lucent Academy, but darkness is not far from her as the Vykens (vampire like) are growing and Llona will stop at nothing to protect her friends and school.
Llona is still strong as ever; she of course is nothing like the rest of the Aura’s at the academy. The Aura’s have been trained to never fight and live a peaceful life. But with the dangers of the Vyken’s, she tries so hard to convince her aunt Sophie about her concerns. But in the end her aunt only wants her to be like the rest of the girls, Llona will never be like them, as she seeks out the Vykens and wants to fight. After she killed the Vyken in the first book you can see a difference in her as she is seeking for a battle, you may question why she seems to have this hunger to fight.
This time the mystery is intensified as to why the numbers are growing among the Vykens and what is really happening at the Aura’s blood bank. I always love a little mystery and I felt it added a lot of suspense around all the battle scenes. In the end Llona always has help with her old friends May and love interest Christian, along with two new friends Liam and Tessa. Christian and Llona relationship may be forbidden especially in the eyes of her aunt, but they know that they mean too much to each other to deny it.
In the end I really enjoyed the action packed aspect, it was filled with romance and tension that will keep the readers wanting more and always questioning will good be able to stop evil. There is so much growth for Llona, I feel her character will always be the rebel to everyone who doesn’t understand what she has gone through. This was definitely a major step up from the first book with new creatures introduced, challenges for Llona besides the Vykens, and more protectors that I can’t wait to read more about. After the ending, which was a bit of a sucker punch but really made me wish the next book were out!
RECOMMENDATION:
This is a young adult book that you’ll never want to put down. Fans of Jennifer Esteps Mythos Academy series and Jennifer Armentrouts Covenant series will want to get their hands on Rachel McClellans Fractured Light.
rjsthumbelina's review
3.0
I really only gave it three stars bc Im mad at the ending. these endings are starting to become a copout for fantasy writers mid-series to spur their female heroines into action (and to make their readers all emotional)
alexalovesbooks's review
4.0
(Originally posted on the blog)
When I read Fractured Light last year, I mentioned something about hoping for a sequel with more information about the Auras, the Guardians and the Vykens. Rachel McClellan has truly outdone herself with Fractured Soul, bringing a sophomore novel that's entertaining, informative and jam-packed with action and intrigue. Though it took me a while to remember the basics of this world, I definitely enjoyed joining Llona and her friends in another adventure.
There are a lot of changes in Llona's life in this book, which means that her character really does go through a difficult time dealing with everything. While I admire the tenacity and curiosity that have always been a part of who she is, I spent most of this one worrying about her. Not only is she forced to battle more evil, but she's even got things to think about when it comes to herself... and that forms a core part of this novel. The clever twist that McClellan uses when it comes to moving this story forward has a lot to do with Llona and is something that I personally think makes a lot of sense.
We're joined by a couple of old favorites in this book - Llona's best friend May and her Guardian Christian - and I love having them around. Both continue to support and care about Llona, and I love how they have never once wavered in their trust and love for her. However, I do think that Christian might have made some pretty interesting decisions in this book, and I'm not necessarily in agreement with all of them.
Apart from the old characters, we meet a few new ones who I wanted to give a shout out to, particularly Tessa, Dr. Hans and Liam. These three people become part of Llona's adventures at Lucent Academy in various capacities, and it was fascinating for me to learn more about them, what they knew and who they were.
What really drives this novel forward, in my opinion, is the plot. Things are a bit slow when Llona first arrives at Lucent Academy, mostly because we're forced to endure her daily experiences. (In case you were wondering, Lucent came across like a very old-fashioned boarding school for Auras). But as Llona starts to discover things, both about herself and about the school, a plot unfolds until something extremely evil is revealed. Though we don't necessarily finish the book knowing all the whys and hows, we are given enough information to know something awful is afoot and to justify the events that take place towards the book's latter half (and trust me, there are some traumatising moments in store).
Fractured Soul was a second book served up just the way I liked them - main character growth, interesting new characters and a massive evil plot. It was a pleasure to learn more about Llona, and to find reasons to root for her to succeed. It was also fun to meet even more new magical races in this world, and to witness some pretty awesome fight scenes. As the evil plot still isn't completely resolved, I look forward to reading the next book and finding out what Llona and her friends are going to do to save the day.
When I read Fractured Light last year, I mentioned something about hoping for a sequel with more information about the Auras, the Guardians and the Vykens. Rachel McClellan has truly outdone herself with Fractured Soul, bringing a sophomore novel that's entertaining, informative and jam-packed with action and intrigue. Though it took me a while to remember the basics of this world, I definitely enjoyed joining Llona and her friends in another adventure.
There are a lot of changes in Llona's life in this book, which means that her character really does go through a difficult time dealing with everything. While I admire the tenacity and curiosity that have always been a part of who she is, I spent most of this one worrying about her. Not only is she forced to battle more evil, but she's even got things to think about when it comes to herself... and that forms a core part of this novel. The clever twist that McClellan uses when it comes to moving this story forward has a lot to do with Llona and is something that I personally think makes a lot of sense.
We're joined by a couple of old favorites in this book - Llona's best friend May and her Guardian Christian - and I love having them around. Both continue to support and care about Llona, and I love how they have never once wavered in their trust and love for her. However, I do think that Christian might have made some pretty interesting decisions in this book, and I'm not necessarily in agreement with all of them.
Apart from the old characters, we meet a few new ones who I wanted to give a shout out to, particularly Tessa, Dr. Hans and Liam. These three people become part of Llona's adventures at Lucent Academy in various capacities, and it was fascinating for me to learn more about them, what they knew and who they were.
What really drives this novel forward, in my opinion, is the plot. Things are a bit slow when Llona first arrives at Lucent Academy, mostly because we're forced to endure her daily experiences. (In case you were wondering, Lucent came across like a very old-fashioned boarding school for Auras). But as Llona starts to discover things, both about herself and about the school, a plot unfolds until something extremely evil is revealed. Though we don't necessarily finish the book knowing all the whys and hows, we are given enough information to know something awful is afoot and to justify the events that take place towards the book's latter half (and trust me, there are some traumatising moments in store).
Fractured Soul was a second book served up just the way I liked them - main character growth, interesting new characters and a massive evil plot. It was a pleasure to learn more about Llona, and to find reasons to root for her to succeed. It was also fun to meet even more new magical races in this world, and to witness some pretty awesome fight scenes. As the evil plot still isn't completely resolved, I look forward to reading the next book and finding out what Llona and her friends are going to do to save the day.
bookbriefs's review
4.0
I am going to attempt to pull myself together for this review. I have so many thoughts and emotions flying around my head with this book. Fractured light was one of my favorite books of 2012. I really loved it, so I was so excited to read the second book. And I was not disappointed. It has a different feel than the first book. I felt like there were secrets, twists and surprises at every turn.
Fractured soul picks up where the first book left off, with Llona at Lucent academy. We got to learn more about auras, and furies, vykens and lizens. Now I know that auras are supposed to be super peaceful and nice and unable to kill and all that but honestly, I'm glad that Llona was never like that. I wouldn't want her to be like the other girls that grew up at the academy or like Sophie. I couldn't stand them. But I love Llona. She is inquisitive and has a mind of her own. I love that she questions things don't add up. Plus I think she is so much nicer and caring than the other girls. She is the one that went out of her way to be nicer to Tessa, a lizen.
Christian is back at Lucent too and he is charming as ever. The same goes for May. May is too awesome for words. I'm not going to spend too much time talking about the plot because the brilliance of fractured soul is in its secrets and surprises so I am just going to share two parts that I liked in the story. First, I really liked how quickly Llona picked up on the fact that all aura history before 1939 was never mentioned but fury history went back to the 1700s or something like that. And then I loved the part where Llona started running outside of formation in gym and raced the other auras. I thought that was so much fun, even if it went against the whole no competition thing.
Fractured soul is a wild ride to say the least. I laughed, I gasped, I cried. The ending is brutal, but it makes me want to read the next book even more. I love how the story is told. All of the characters and plots are woven together so well. This is a great ya series.
Fractured soul picks up where the first book left off, with Llona at Lucent academy. We got to learn more about auras, and furies, vykens and lizens. Now I know that auras are supposed to be super peaceful and nice and unable to kill and all that but honestly, I'm glad that Llona was never like that. I wouldn't want her to be like the other girls that grew up at the academy or like Sophie. I couldn't stand them. But I love Llona. She is inquisitive and has a mind of her own. I love that she questions things don't add up. Plus I think she is so much nicer and caring than the other girls. She is the one that went out of her way to be nicer to Tessa, a lizen.
Christian is back at Lucent too and he is charming as ever. The same goes for May. May is too awesome for words. I'm not going to spend too much time talking about the plot because the brilliance of fractured soul is in its secrets and surprises so I am just going to share two parts that I liked in the story. First, I really liked how quickly Llona picked up on the fact that all aura history before 1939 was never mentioned but fury history went back to the 1700s or something like that. And then I loved the part where Llona started running outside of formation in gym and raced the other auras. I thought that was so much fun, even if it went against the whole no competition thing.
Fractured soul is a wild ride to say the least. I laughed, I gasped, I cried. The ending is brutal, but it makes me want to read the next book even more. I love how the story is told. All of the characters and plots are woven together so well. This is a great ya series.