2015 Readers’ Favorite Honorable Mention for YA Horror2016 New Apple Summer eBook Solo Medalist for YA HorrorMaura finally found the truth she was always seeking…or has she?After being left in the dark for all of her life, Maura’s father, Maxwell, has finally returned to reveal sinister family secrets Maura could never have dreamed possible—including his revelation that she is one of The Born. … sinister family secrets Maura could never have dreamed possible—including his revelation that she is one of The Born. But his daughter soon discovers both he and her mother are keeping pieces of her reality hidden, still. As Maura struggles to unravel the mysteries surrounding her new existence and discover every piece of the cryptic puzzle, life appears intent on casting stumbling blocks across her path with every step forward.
Tragedy seems to stalk Maura, and those around her, as she stumbles along, altering the young changeling’s family, just when they have all come back together. The changes left in its wake could be for the better, or may threaten their existence, entirely.
With the arrival of Christmas comes the opportunity for Maura to draw close to everyone she loves—and finally reunite with Ron, the man she loves. But permanence has always eluded her, and in her current state of flux this pattern endures, as fate seems intent on snapping the threads that bind her to those she holds most dear. Maxwell’s good intentions pave a road for Maura, littered with misery, while her mother, Caelyn’s, desire to shield her family from pain may tear her away from them, altogether. The perfect happiness in the young vampire’s grasp is so easily swept away and dragged under, out of reach. Can Maura erupt from the darkness and confusion to break the surface and find the life she’s always dreamed of?
In the midst of chaos, assistance materializes in the form of another of her kind—ephemerally beautiful, yet explosively volatile, this new vampire may prove capable of unlocking the puzzle-box Maxwell seems intent on securing from her sight. Maura will discover the darkest parts of herself in her quest to understand the being she is destined to become. Her newfound friend has some shady intentions of his own—such as thwarting the love that has grown between Maura and Ron. Following in the wake of the impulsive vampire’s misguided instruction may further pull a naive Maura down into the depths of ultimate despair, heartbreak…and even destruction.
>>>>>>Undertow: Death’s Twilight is the second book in the Maura DeLuca trilogy and the sequel to Rising Tide: Dark Innocence. But the book can be read as a stand alone. In this dark, urban fantasy, readers will discover a world full of unique vampires, troubled romance and a splash of blood—devoid of werewolves. You’ll encounter elves and fae, vampire fae, creatures that are faerie born and of faerie blood–even a few born of angel blood. The rollercoaster that is Maura’s vampire awakenings continues in this YA, paranormal novel that is one of the classic vampire mystery thrillers. Reminiscent of the classic Fairy Tale, the characters introduced in this series are at the other end of the spectrum from the vampire found in the age of Bram Stoker and his famous Dracula. Although there are ties to the myths created by Stoker and his timeless novel, the Maura DeLuca story possesses a sprinkle of magic, coupled with ‘monsters’ that—in most cases—retain the majority of their humanity.
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A Lot Of Interesting Things Going On
Undertow: Death’s Twilight is an action-packed paranormal romance. Throughout the book, there are exciting events and plot twists that increase the tension and glue the reader to the pages.
The Opening
Anyone who has read the first book won’t be surprised by the first paragraph, but it provides a great reminder of the important event that just happened. Anyone who decides to read this book as a stand alone will easily work out what’s going on as the opening chapter succinctly summarizes the events of the first book in a way that is shown and not told and does not feel like an info-dump.
The Characters
Maura is instantly likable because her parents have kept her in the dark for many years leaving her feeling betrayed. I hate the way she was left alone with Susie without the help and advice she needed. If nothing else, the events of book one demonstrated that Susie’s life was endangered by this bad decision to leave Maura and her alone without the knowledge or supervision that would ensure their mutual safety during this time of transition.
Nice plot development with Ron. He is a truly sympathetic character, and he gets even more likable in this book. I love the foreshadowing from Max about Ron’s extended family.
Val irritated me. He’s been around for two hundred years, so he knows there are facts he cannot change and things he cannot have. He will have experienced this thing over and over within his society, yet somehow thinks he can overcome something mystical with simple persistence. Causing someone physical pain by your actions is not likely to endear you to them.
I did like the subtle hints about Val and someone other than Maura peppered through the story. I can’t go into details about what I mean without introducing spoilers, but it appears that there’s some very, very long-distance foreshadowing in this book with respect to Val’s future life.
I didn’t really like Maxwell very much. He is the king of bad decisions. He frequently decides things in a vacuum (in secret and without discussion with others) that invariably turn out to be horrendously bad choices. For a six-hundred-year-old guy, he hasn’t learned much.
Most of the major conflicts that occur throughout this book derive from one of Max’s bad decisions. A family member feels angry and lashes out because she wasn’t consulted by Max. Max failed to arrange adequate supervision, so someone suffers when everything goes horribly wrong. It felt as though if Max wasn’t in their life, everything would be much better.
I was a little disappointed by Susie. Not the lack of control during certain event, but at her apportionment of blame. She was the main cheerleader for the life-changing decisions, so how can she blame others in any way, especially those who were as ignorant as her about certain facts?
The Plot
There are lots of interesting things going on in this book. The three main conflicts relate to Susie’s long-term position within the family, Ron’s whereabouts after the midpoint, and the anger felt by a family member who was left out of the loop. You won’t be too surprised to hear that Max is to blame for two out of three of these conflicts and is part of the problem for the third.
None of these conflicts are resolved within the book, but that’s fine. One conflict is kinda resolved, but the resolution actually becomes a bigger problem that the initial conflict. A second conflict comes to a head in the final chapter of this book, creating a fabulous cliffhanger ending. The third conflict is left hanging.
I can’t tell you which is which or give more details without some major spoilers. However, I can tell you that I really enjoyed the ongoing tension and plot development within this book. Further, I thought the ending was great. Despite the fact that most of the conflict isn’t resolved, the story is brought to the point where I felt that progressing immediately on to the next book was mandatory. It was a book ending that really left me wanting…in a good way.
At the end of chapter 18, there was a situation that could have easily been resolved, in my opinion. Instead, it became a major plot turn. There should have been better reasons why the simple approach wasn’t taken.
The Setting
The setting was well developed. I always understood where we were and what was happening. The stuff about vampires being captivated, almost hypnotized, by fish tanks and the ocean was great.
The Prose
I like the way this story is shown and not told. The pacing of this second book in the series was much better than the first. I found the narrative very immersive.
However, unlike the first book, there are some editing problems with this novel. There are many typos.
For example, in chapter 6, 28%: Wow, Maxwell had gotten the tree up in just the amount time it had taken me… Chapter 7, 31%: One inside, the calming atmosphere worked at settling me… Chapter 8, first page: …special gingerbread cookies for Caelyn using with almond flour. Chapter 9, 40%: Ron kept repeatedly rubbed his hands brusquely over… Chapter 12, 59%: “Well, the fit him best due to his…” Chapter 14, 68%: The fact his tattoo it had been placed…
My Opinion
This book ended on a wonderful cliffhanger, and I immediately jumped into the next book. That’s how good the ending was! Throughout this book, I was thoroughly engaged and entertained. Undertow: Death’s Twilight rates as 5 out of 5 on any scale.
Notice:
I received an advance review copy for free, but this review is my honest opinion of the book.
This trilogy is one of those that you want to read from beginning to end without stopping.
The storyline is fantastic and flows seamlessly from one book to the next. The plot is well thought out, with great twists and turns throughout, and I loved the multi-dimensional characters.
I really enjoyed theses books, and am looking forward to reading the first book of the follow-up trilogy, The DeLuca Vampires.
A well-written supernatural series for readers of all ages.
Picking up where Rising Tide ended this book continues the story of Maura the changeling. It is superbly written, taking the reader along as the characters continue their journey in a world that turns upside down and inside out around them. Maura finally learns just what loss truly means and learns the hard way that selfish obsession leads to disaster and true loneliness.
We continue the story with the characters from the first book who become even more alive to the reader as we get to know them better and we meet new friends who aren’t all that they seem. We’re taken on a roller coaster ride of emotions alongside them all as they process all the normal teenage angst as well as the growing needs of a fledgling vampire and her wannabe friend.
A word of warning – make sure you have undisturbed reading time as you won’t willingly put this one down until you turn the very last page