Guardian of the Gate

Quick Plot: This book jumps in where the other left off-- not really giving the reader a lot of space for understanding. In this sequel, Lia Milthorpe goes on a quest for help to end the prophecy that has killed her family and disrupted her life. She is actually traveling, and traveling on the plane at the same time. There are new love interests that conflict with old love interests, there is a new and mythical island world where everyone is-- yikes-- casual! In this novel it's the same story lines as the original, so there's not much new information about the characters, nor is there a lot of new information about what they're trying to do.

This is a book that can't stand on its own. As much as I'm enjoying this story line, in my opinion this is a big no no. The strengths of Prophecy of the Sisters; the development of the characters, the subtle energy of the book, the development of the relationships between characters-- the development of a villain. All of these things were so great in the Prophecy of the Sisters and they're so very weak in Guardian of the Gate. There are new characters introduced, but they are far more shallow than the characters we know. And having read the first book, some of the actions of the characters in this sequel are kind of...well-- unbelievable. The worst part is, having read the first installment of this series, I really really want to know more about the plot/ the characters, what's happening in this dark universe that was so masterfully set up in the first book. I guess this is just one of those situations where I will be forced to wait for the third installment. I hope it fills in some of the white space that Ms. Zink left in the Guardian of the Gate.

R.