“Everywhere I go, I leave a trail of dead bodies. My parents died fighting to stop the darkness. I’ll keep fighting too, even if it means I have to die. Dying’s not half as hard as being left behind, anyway…Evil is real. We are at war. Anyone you tells you differently is lying.”Shortly after 17-year-old Maren Hamilton is orphaned and sent to live with grandparents she’s never met in Scotland, … with grandparents she’s never met in Scotland, she receives an encrypted journal from her dead mother that makes her and everyone around her a target. It confirms that her parents were employed by a secret, international organization that’s now intent on recruiting her. As Maren works to unravel the clues left behind by her mother, a murderous madness sweeps through the local population, terrorizing her small town. Maren must decide if she’ll continue her parents’ fight or stay behind to save her friends.
With the help of Gavin, an otherworldly mercenary she’s not supposed to fall in love with, and Graham, a charming aristocrat who is entranced with her, Maren races against the clock and around the country from palatial estates with twisted labyrinths to famous cathedrals with booby-trapped subterranean crypts to stay ahead of the enemy and find a cure. Along the way, she discovers the great truth of love: that laying down your life for another isn’t as hard as watching them sacrifice everything for you.
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I loved this book. The characters were interesting and the plot was very entertaining. I looked for other books by this author, but alas, couldn’t find any.
Grief has framed Maren Hamilton’s seventeen years of life. Before she was born, her father died taking her mother to the hospital. Now her mother is dead, killed in a way that is baffling. Maren found the body. When the graveside service dissolved in a massive thunderstorm, only the actions of her mother’s coworkers stopped Maren from climbing into the coffin to embrace the corpse. Being sent to live with her paternal grandparents in Aviemore, Scotland, has kept Maren reeling. She knows nothing of them, nor they of her, never having had any contact. Mercifully, they are welcoming, if a bit stiff. And who wouldn’t be upset? Having a teen-aged granddaughter thrust into their lives can hardly be what they thought would consume their “golden years.” Slowly, and reluctantly, with their encouragement, Maren makes friends and begins to adjust, but she is haunted by strange dreams. Visions and feelings of déjà vu dog her steps. Suddenly a beautiful boy appears, and the girl who had never felt the pull of passion is smitten with love at first sight. A package arrives with cryptic messages of warning, and it becomes apparent that mom and dad were involved in something much more dangerous than computer programming. Is Maren’s life also at risk?
Despite the fact that the plot of this story is hopelessly derivative of Meyer’s Twilight novels and gushingly romantic to boot, I could not stop myself from enjoying it. The pace is fast, twisty, intriguing and well written. Maren’s character seems entirely genuine and occasional details of life in Scotland are comic. Of course, the villains are iconic and the hero strong and brave, but then Maren is plucky and courageous too.
It is a rare book that makes me want to reread it immediately after finishing the last page, but “Toward a Secret Sky” has that quality. One word of caution: If your name is Campbell don’t read this book.
My thanks to Blink Books and NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader’s copy for this review.
Where is the next one? Definitely leaves you wanting more!
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“‘There are a lot more demons than you might think. When Lucifer was cast out of heaven, he tooka third of the angels with him.’
‘A third?’ I said. ‘How? How did he convince them?’
‘Evil is contagious,’ she answered simply.”
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I have commented before on how much I enjoy world-within-the-world books, and this was no exception. Heather Maclean’s tale of angels and demons that walk among, yet somewhat apart from, us was a very enjoyable tale about how complicated life – and love – can be. I thoroughly enjoyed the story, and it sets up a new series nicely. But, funny thing, when I went to write the review I found that I didn’t have all that much to say about the book…
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the story – no gaps or continuity issues, no flat characters or half-hearted developments. I read it quickly and without breaks when I needed other books. But I when I sat down a couple of days after finishing it and started writing this review, I found myself unable to remember many details – and some of those I thought I remembered were actually from similar, but different, books… I guess maybe the “good and evil are REALLY all around us” concept is playing itself out for me. This book was a fine addition to the genre, but wasn’t so vastly different as to leave a lasting impression. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it, or that I won’t look for the sequel – I did and I will. This is reading for fun – and that’s a marvelous thing, it just doesn’t make for the most exciting book reviews!
This was a perfectly pleasant story (well, not perfectly – poor protagonist Maren suffers WAY more than her share of grief, but you know what I mean), with well-drawn characters and an interesting and evenly paced plot. It isn’t going to change your life, but it will be a thoroughly engaging read.
My review copy was provided by NetGalley.