May 1, 2012
Gr 9 Up-Percy Jackson meets Anne Rice in a familiar meal of a book that includes some paranormal standby ingredients vigorously blended with Greek myth. A post-hurricane-apocalyptic New Orleans called New 2 is owned and run by nine magical families that make up the Novem. Nothing much is fresh in this series that began with Darkness Becomes Her (S & S, 2011), but the dilemma of 17-year-old protagonist Ari does stand out. Offspring of a cursed Gorgon who fell in love with a hunter of goddess Athena's army, she sports a head full of shiny white hair that can be turned into writhing snakes when she is spelled or antagonized, presumably allowing her to turn people to stone. Ari fears that her Gorgon state will become permanent at 21, but she may be one of the only beings capable of killing a god, perhaps even Athena herself, the source of her line's curse and the antagonist who wishes to use her as weapon. Ari attends the Novem's exclusive school with Sebastian, her half witch, half vampire love interest. She trains for an eventual showdown with Athena, surviving bouts with Bran, a demigod, and researches at the secret library to reach the mystical temple and win back her father and friend, taken captive by the steely goddess at the end of book one. Nice New Orleans flavor seasons the mix, but it's still derivative. That said, a lot of teens who gobble up supernatural romances or those who enjoyed the first book won't complain.-Suzanne Gordon, Lanier High School, Sugar Hill, GA
Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
July 1, 2012
Ari, a descendant of Medusa, must rescue her father and friends from malevolent Athena. To that end Ari draws upon her wits and developing Gorgon powers, as well as information gained through her connections in paranormal New Orleans society. As in [cf2]Darkness Becomes Her[cf1], the role-reversal of Medusa and Athena is intriguing, but Greek mythology makes an awkward pairing with entities such as witches and vampires.
(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
January 1, 2012
A gorgon and her aristocrat vampire boyfriend wage battle against the goddess Athena in this action-filled paranormal romance set in New 2—a futuristic, crumbling New Orleans. This follow-up to Darkness Becomes Her (2011) again features Ari, an appealingly tough heroine, schooled in the techniques of bail bondsmen by her foster parents. Picking up where the first left off, Ari hurries to learn all she can about mastering her gorgon power so she can rescue both her father and Violet, one of the ragtag group of misfits with whom she lives in New 2, from Athena's realm. Interesting reworking of Greek myth and deft plotting will intrigue and engage readers, though the use of trite phrases may pull them out of their immersion in the story: Ari's love interest, Sebastian, is described as having "…pale skin, raven hair, and naturally dark red lips paired with a rebel attitude and a poet's soul," and Athena commands her at one point to "Chill, gorgon…or you'll miss the best part." Ari's gruff but introspective narration serves to nicely flesh out her character, allowing her to be both brave and vulnerable. While secondary players remain one-dimensional, including bad-boy-with-a-heart-of-gold Sebastian, fans of the first will enjoy this and clamor for the next. Interesting ideas, flawed execution. (Paranormal romance. 14 & up)
(COPYRIGHT (2012) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)
March 1, 2012
Grades 8-10 Ari's travails in the former New Orleans continue as she takes on a nasty beauty who also happens to be the Greek goddess Athena. The search for little Violet, who was kidnapped by Athena in Darkness Becomes Her (2011), drives a perilous plot filled with vampire moralizing, horrible visions of torture by moray eels, and the fear of turning into marble at Athena's hand. Keaton provides the barest of bridges between this book and its prequel, but her characters' development remains consistent. Not as strong a narrative, both in terms of world making and rich language, this series entry is for the already hooked.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)