The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker Book

I really loved this book. The tenor of it was much different from the first, but still wonderful. I would say the first sort of unwound or unfurled itself, like a rosebud opening. It was lovely, almost poetic at points, but still told a gripping story. This second book had a feverish pace. Even in the opening, when there were pauses for our characters to live a few moments of life, those moments felt like borrowed or stolen time. As a reader, you were horribly aware of the terrible force building against them, and of how precious those few moments were.

This one also told a much broader story. Or rather, from a broader perspective. The first book stayed largely focused on Percy and Alexi, but this one gathered threads from many directions and wove all The Guard into the coming war.

I don't want to say too much, because I don't want to give it away, but I would just love to impress on my friends how much I loved these two books. And the story really does wrap in this book, for these characters. There are plenty of places the author could go in this world for more stories, but I would be very surprised if these characters are pressed back into the fray again. They have earned their retirement - no more stolen moments, instead they get to enjoy the rest of their lives. It makes me a little melancholy, as is always the case when a story I adore comes to an end, but I am certainly satisfied. And I also have to say: the last 2 lines of this book? Perfect. So incredibly, satisfyingly perfect. *blissful sigh*