The Seers (Holders #2)by Julianna Scott
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Synopsis:
After nearly being drained of her ability and betrayed by a man her father trusted, Becca Ingle was left with one clue — Ciaran Shea. He holds the key to the downfall of the power-mad Holder, Darragh, and can ensure the safety of both Holder and Human kind alike... but is he willing to help?
Becca, Alex, Jocelyn, and Cormac set out for Adare Manor to meet with the Bhunaidh, an aristocratic group of pure blooded Holders of whom Ciaran is a rumored member. However, when Becca discovers that they might not be the only ones after the information Ciaran has, everyone begins to wonder if Bhunaidh might not be as uninvolved with Darragh as they claim.
A race to uncover Ciaran’s secrets begins, where the line between friend and foe is blurred, and everyone seems to have their own agenda. Becca will have to call on every ability at her disposal to uncover the truth, all the while knowing that sometimes the answer is more dangerous than the question.
► I’m not a stalker. No, no, really, I’m not. Yet I’ll stalk Julianna Scott’s blog for sure to know when the next book will come out. Yes, it’s that good. Why, I think I can safely say that I’m pretty obsessed with this (underread!) series right now.
➊ I’m shamelessly in love with Alex, because he is a wonderful male lead. Period.
Okay, want to know more? What can I say, the guy blushes, is loyal and trusting but oh so humanly insecure sometimes, he cares deeply about his friends and his love for Becca is maybe one of the most adorable thing I’ve had the opportunity to see. I must admit that at this point I wasn’t far from the obsession : the tiniest gesture or conversation made me smile so big, I probably looked like a moron, but oh well : he made my heart beat faster and to be frank, it’s quite rare. In a word, here’s a male lead like I would want to find more often in my YA books as he represents a refreshing change from the asshole/controlling guys we often find in PNR. I mean, I do like a snarky evil from now and then, but I’m not immune to this kind of charming love interest, even more because he does manage to make me laugh, in his quiet and non show-off kind of way.
➋ Becca isn’t flawless, yet it made her very relatable and believable : she’s meaning to do whatever it takes to help and protect those she loves, but sometimes it’s just too hard, you know? She’s no hero, but a regular girl who happens to have powers and for that I’m grateful. I loved to see her discovering her abilities little by little, overwhelmed but eager to do the best she can. Moreover, she can’t stand bullies and doesn’t hesitate to stand for people who don’t get a say in the matter and I must confess that I was grinning hard each time she would have told someone to get lost. My only complaint would be that sometimes Becca comes as a little TSTL – not too bad, otherwise I would not have enjoyed the book, but she did trust a little too easily for my taste at some point, and perhaps she should keep her temper in check sometimes…
I mean, YOU STUPID!
But then, she is believably flawed, that’s why I could overtake it, because I have no idea how I would have reacted in her place… Easier said than done, huh?
➌ Moreover, the development of Becca and Alex’s relationship was great and really well-handled in my opinion. Indeed after book 1 we could have feared that unnecessary drama or overcheesery (I know, it’s not a word) was coming but fortunately, it never happened. I love them together.
➍ Trust issues and complots. Remember how I found The Holders predictable? Nothing like that in The Seers, where the story kept me captivated and managed to surprise me along the way : the characters have no idea who they can trust, and as the witnesses of this masquerade, we don’t either. Truth be told, it’s maybe one of my favorite kind of plot, so I was really pleased by all the developments this sequel offers us. Not to mention that I found the atmosphere a little darker and even creepy at some occasions : it is very promising for the future of the series, isn’t it?
➎ Concerning the secondary characters, we get to meet several interesting new ones, but shhhh – I can’t say more otherwise I would spoil all the fun for you and we wouldn’t want that now would we?
However, and on this I second what Emily said in her review, I would have wanted to see other female characters grow in importance. While Chloe stays nice but dismissed still too often (though it might change in the future), I didn’t like the addition of Shannon, since she was one dimensional and well, our stereotypical bitch : this kind of character never fail to annoy me because they don’t ring true, especially when the “hate” is instantaneous. However, I did appreciate that the drama didn’t involve Alex – Yeah, I *might* be a little overprotective of the guy. Meet him and you will understand, trust me.
➏ As in the first book, the writing is addictive and I find myself wanting to know more and more… Now I have a millions questions and FOR PETE SAKE WHEN WILL I KNOOOW?? TELL MEEEEEEE!!!
► In a word, if you love YA PNR, I don’t see why you couldn’t love these books. That’s true, there is romance and the plot is predictable at some points, especially in the first book, but isn’t always more or less the case in that genre? What I can say is what you won’t find : you won’t find an asshole as a hero, you won’t find an annoying heroine who spends her time melting on the floor because of the asshole mentioned above, and you won’t find boredom for sure. What are you waiting for?
