A review by alexalovesbooks
Fractured Soul by Rachel McClellan
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.