If you haven't read the first book in this series, then STEP AWAY FROM THIS PARTICULAR COOKIE AISLE! There will be spoilers.
| Arcadia Burns by Kai Meyer | |
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| Category: Teens | |
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Reviewer: Jill Murphy
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| Summary: Enjoyable middle book in a paranormal trilogy involving shapeshifting mafia clans. The overall arc moves forward nicely and we see good character development. We like this unusual series! | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 448 | Date: February 2012 |
| Publisher: Templar | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 1848776403 | |
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At the tender age of 17, Rosa has discovered she has shapeshifting abilities, become the head of a Mafia clan, discovered that she's under threat from an organisation even more secret and sinister than the Cosa Nostra, and - if all that weren't enough - fallen in love with an unsuitable boy.
You can't blame her for wanting to get away, really, can you?! So Rosa flies back to New York from Sicily, hoping to build some bridges with her mother and perhaps even find out some more about her dead father and TABULA, the organisation that experiments on people like her. But even in the Big Apple, Rosa can't escape danger. The New York clans would like nothing better than to hunt her down and the little she is able to find out about the past seems to implicate Alessandro. Does he really love her? Can he be trusted? Only a return to Sicily will show Rosa the truth...
Arcadia Burns follows on from Arcadia Awakens very nicely indeed. There are plenty of kickass shapeshifting chases and fights, many of which are lethal. They're all exciting. The overall plot arc involving TABULA, the shifting allegiances of the various Mafia clans, and Rosa's own past, advances nicely, as does the blossoming romance between Rosa and Alessandro. Middle books in trilogies are notoriously difficult but this one succeeds on every level.
I like Rosa a great deal. Impulsive but perceptive, she is inclined to trust her own instincts. She's the kind of girl other girls would like to be. I also like the body count. Perhaps that sounds rather bloodthirsty, but it's nice not to be able to predict exactly who is going to die, and when. And I've no idea where things will go next. And that is a very good thing.
Looking forward to the last instalment!
Read the first book in the series before this one. Obviously! In terms of paranormal crime stories, we also likes Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Arcadia Burns by Kai Meyer at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Arcadia Burns by Kai Meyer at Amazon.com.
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