ARC Review: Fractured (Guards of the Shadowlands #2) by Sarah Fine

Fractured

Author: Sarah Fine

Series: The Guards of the Shadowlands

Genre: Young Adult

Pages: 357

Publisher: Skyscape

Release date: 29^th October 2013

Amazon

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

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?

Review: 4 out of 5 stars

** This book contains possible spoilers from the first book. Sanctum **

Fractured is the second book in the Guards of the Shadowlands series by Sarah Fine and begins a week after Sanctum left off.

I absolutely loved the first book in this series, it was unbelievably awesome and so different to anything I have read more recently so I was more than anxious to get hold of the sequel which also didn't fail to disappoint.

Malachi Sokol and Lela Santos have returned to Rhode Island after receiving their punishment from the Judge of the Sanctum; Lela is now Captain and Malachi is posing as a high school student and acting as her second in command, an unusual arrangement which seems to work well since he has been away from the land of the living for quite some time.

Fractured has a dark and gritty plot which had Lela and Malachi hunting the Mazikin who have entered the realm in search of human hosts. They are an evil bunch intent on making earth their home. The world-building continues to progress, I found the new setting to be done well and despite it not being as action-packed, bleak and intense as the first book, the overall story was strong and continues to flow with a few surprises to keep everything interesting but still left me curious about what the author has in store with the final installment.

I really enjoyed the character progression, Lela is strong and kick-butt and takes on her new role with strength and courage although at times she did doubt herself and her abilities; Malachi in his new environment was having to find his way again, he takes his role as protector seriously and because of this we see a few miscommunications and dramas. We also meet some wonderful new secondary characters who I thought were great and played a pivotal role in the overall story, I found myself coming to like Henry and Jim who were working under Lela and I still adore Raphael.

At the beginning of the book, I really found myself enjoying the awkward, sweet and budding romance but as Lela and Malachi began to spend time apart and with others, I became extremely frustrated; this is an element I really enjoyed in the first book and I honestly felt Lela was beginning to trust him so I was unsure what the purpose was of introducing unnecessary complications and drama so the romance was unfortunately lacking for me.

Sarah Fine’s writing is fabulous, it has depth and is detailed with the setting, characters and each of the locations described vividly, you are drawn into the world she has created with her wonderful story-telling.

Overall, Fractured is creative, gloomy at times and filled with some kick-butt action. The ending left me gaping so my biggest gripe is the wait I have for the next book.

Also, a gorgeous cover!

Thank-you kindly to Netgalley/Skyscape for the opportunity to read and review Fractured.

 

About the author (Goodreads): When I'm not writing, I'm psychologizing (really, I even get a paycheck for it). Sometimes I do both at the same time. The results are unpredictable. 

For extra information about the Guards of the Shadowlands series, including Malachi's personal journal entries, or to ask a question:http://guardsoftheshadowlands.tumblr....

I also write with Walter Jury under the name S.E. Fine.