Review: A Great Sequel!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 22, 2013
Dark Return is a great sequel to Dark Seeker, at first I had 2nd book anxiety because most of them are `break up' books and in the first chapter we find Kai secretly meeting his ex Leah, so I was really nervous going into this. I loved Kai & Janie together and I would be mega p'd if some daychild swooped in and broke them up! I'm not going to tell you whether my anxiety was warranted but know this..... his ex is back and she wants Kai back! At any cost!So yeah, I really enjoyed this. I love Janie & Kai's characters, their relationship and even the banter between them. I love a snarky kick ass female lead and Janie has that in spades but I felt this book focussed a lot more on Kai, as we get to know him and his past a whole lot better and in more ways than one. I really liked this insight into Kai, I think he was quite romanticised in book one but in this we start to get a picture of just how dark he actually was through flashbacks to key events in his `daychild' life. That brought out a different side to him and maybe took a bit of his shine as a `good guy' plus what happens in the first chapter did make me question his motives all of the way through.The story line is good, since the last book and the demise of the previous daychild leader, Taveres is worried because a good few of his creations were wiped out, so he sends his best and his best just happens to be connected to Kai in a big way. Taveres knows what he's doing by using Leah for this job and it will become very apparent throughout the book just why he chose her and by introducing her, you automatically bring strife to Kai & Janie because yes, Kai is still keeping his past from her which is always going to lead to doubt & uncertainty plus considering the HUGE secret he kept from her in book one, trust will definitely be an issue. Therefore Leah's arrival/interference gives the danger a more personal feel this time because Leah will do anything to get her way and when you give a person with `issues' power, expect them to be unpredictable. I can't say a great deal about the plot, I liked where it went, Leah brought a certain type of danger to the plot that I didn't realise would be so good, I loved what she was willing to do to get her own way and I liked that Kai's flashbacks tied her into the story so well, as well as shining some new light on him. The pacing was good and it was everything I hoped it would be and that includes the budding relationship between Janie's Mother & mentor, it's nice to see the adults get in on the action too, once in a while. I must say though, I totally did not see that ending coming..... maybe I should have because of course there is no low to which she will stoop but one things for sure... Janie is going to kick her ass!!