Genre:
Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy/New Adult
Description:
“The
scar on Vinny’s wrist is nothing compared to the scars on her
psyche. She isn’t a hero, she isn’t even a good person, and when
a skirmish with one of the Handmaidens of the Skaath Diurga ends
badly, she knows it’s partly her fault.
Nobody
in the Circle could’ve guessed at the truths that attack would
uncover.
One
woman has sacrificed everything to end the war between Handmaidens
and Awakened. Now, she’s prepared to damn everyone for her freedom.
One final betrayal is all it will take to change our world forever.
Scar
is the second instalment in the Celestial
Talisman sequence, an
adult Urban Fantasy series featuring dark, psychological themes. If
you like multifaceted, compelling characters and unusual settings
then this novel is sure to thrill you.”
Author:
“Caitlin
O’Connor searches for truth in fiction, and drags her characters
through hell to find it. A proud eccentric who aspires to be
omniscient, she enjoys listening to music, trying to understand
physics, and admiring unusual works of art. She lives in South Africa
with her son and a malevolent lovebird that requires daily libations
of blood.” Learn more about her at her website, or visit her
Facebook page.
Appraisal:
In
this second installment of The
Celestial Talisman
series, the complicated plot twists and turns continue. There are a
lot of players in this story, many of whom I had forgotten since I
read book one, Finding the
Phoenix, more than six
months ago. I had some trouble recalling certain plot elements as
well. Perhaps a little more back-story would have been helpful. This
could just be my old brain becoming overloaded because I do read a
lot of books. Despite that, I enjoyed the deeper development of the
main characters. Blake is worming his way into my heart. But my
favorite has to be Alistair. It's always the bad boys that grab my
affection first. Not sure what that says about me.
The
chapters alternate points-of-view between Vinny – the main
character, and Amanda, the mastermind behind an evil plot to make
herself lord over a new world order. Chapter headings denoting which
character we are experiencing, even if they only show the character’s
name, would have been a nice addition. Once I caught on to the
pattern, though, it wasn’t a problem. Scar
is a brilliant and unique urban fantasy, which should capture the
attention of many new fantasy readers. The characters are diverse,
distinctive, and suffer from realistic insecurities despite their
special abilities. Vinny is a strong heroine who is becoming more
secure within herself. It’s been interesting to watch her come into
her own after coming from such an abusive background.
Scar
has it all: a smart, intriguing plot, physical battles between light
and dark, internal conflicts, excellent dialogue, and a bit of
romance. This book comes to a satisfying ending with a few elements
and questions still hanging for the plot to continue. Things are far
from settled and I am looking forward to watching relationships
develop, as well as finding out where the whole story is headed now.
Caitlin O’Connor is definitely a new fantasy author to keep an eye
on.
FYI:
Scar
is the second book in The
Celestial Talisman
series. It contains strong language and British and/or South African
English spelling conventions. There is a glossary for South African
vernacular at the end of the book. There are several F-bombs dropped.
Format/Typo
Issues:
No
significant proofing errors.
Rating:
***** Five Stars
Reviewed
by: ?wazithinkin
Approximate
word count: 75-80,000
words
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