Review: More fantasy and adventure!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 11, 2014
Never Let You Go kicks the fantasy in this series into high gear! Where I felt like the first book was a bit lacking in its magical elements, that is not at all the case here - book #2 is fantasy through and through, which I loved!This book picks up right where book #1 left off - Skye has just abandoned Xander to go off to the palace on her own, hoping to find the mysterious necklace that the Elf King Griffin told her about and save "her" (though Skye doesn't actually know who it is she's trying to save). But when she gets to the castle, she finds that the truth isn't as cut-and-dry as she thought and her enemies may not all be enemies after all.The negatives:The love triangle.Maybe it's because it's been a long time since I read book #1, but I just didn't feel all that much of a connection to Xander in this book. Skye spends the entire book with Nickoli, who pretty much captured my heart right from the beginning. I kind of found myself thinking "Xander who?" no matter how often someone in the book mentioned that Xander and Skye were destined for each other. At the same time, it seemed obvious (at least to me) that Nickoli and Skye weren't going to end up together, so my adoration of Nickoli just felt a little fruitless. There were definitely some twists and turns with the romance - and I can't say who she actually ends up with at the end of the book (or if she even chooses), but the journey itself wasn't as interesting as it could have been because I wasn't connected to Xander.What I loved:True fantasy.Unlike the first book in the series, this book felt like a true fantasy novel and I was truly drawn into Tyalbrook and it the lives of its people. There was a much greater sense of magic and mystical danger in this book, which I loved! I thought that Miller did a great job of worldbuilding in this book!The mysteries.Throughout the book, Skye is trying to learn the true story of what happened to her parents and who's side she should really be on. She's gotten one side of the story from The Guardians, but when she gets to the castle, she discovers that there is another version of the story being told. And she comes to realize that some of the people who she has always considered to be her enemies really just believe in that other version of events - and since she's really just going off of what she's been told, she doesn't always know what to believe herself. Then there's the king's obviously evil sidekick - but the question is, what is he up to and is the king in on it all? Meanwhile, Xander is learning some new truths of his own - and those truths may change everything. While I did kind of guess some of the twists in the book, I was still intrigued and excited to unravel the story as it went along.Nickoli.Did I mention that I'm in love with Nickoli? His sometimes overactive ego just made his softer, protective side seem that much sweeter. And I ached for him every time that Skye crushed his heart - why, oh, why Skye? I have a guess about what might happen with Nickoli in the future and I can't wait to read the next book so that I can see if I'm right. Since we got to see parts of this book from Nickoli's perspective, I'm hoping that we'll get even more of him in the next book (and that his heart doesn't get stomped on too badly)!I definitely feel like this series is heading in a great direction and I can't wait to see what Miller has in store for us in book #3. I give Never Let You Go 4/5 stars.***Disclosure: This book was provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given. All opinions are my own***