Saturday, August 24, 2013

Untold (The Lynburn Legacy #2) by Sarah Rees Brennan

I actually thought this came out in August, so rushed to read it at the beginning of August, but now see that it isn't to be published till September, so I'm typing this review about 20 days before you will see it! I am so thankful to Random House Books for Young Readers and Edelweiss for allowing me to read this e-galley. At the end of the review, look for pictures of when I got to meet the author, Sarah Rees Brennan, this past May at the Romantic Times Convention. Now, when I met her, she said I could ask one question about this book, which I didn't have the e-galley of yet, and didn't know I'd even be able to get it. But my mind blanked! I couldn't think of anything specific to ask! She probably thought I was lying when I said I loved the first one, Unspoken, but I wasn't! I loved this one too. And a lot of what I love isn't just the story, it is the characters, the dialogue, all of it. There are times when I laughed out loud, literally, because the characters are written so realistically sarcastic.
So the main characters are back, Kami, Jared Lynburn and his "cousin" Ash Lynburn.  Kami's best friend Angela and her brother Rusty, and their friend Holly.  Kami and Jared's link was broken, and since then, things have been strained between them.  Ash's father has left and is gathering sorcerers to his side to try to take the town from his wife, Lillian, the true Lynburn heir.  And he wants it to go back to the way it used to be, where the people who weren't magic served the sorcerers, and magic was done by spilling blood.  Ash's mom, Lillian is very condescending, and doesn't see how someone like Kami could possibly help.  When Kami broke her bond with Jared, she lost any magical power that she had.  When Lillian gathers the sorcerers who do not want to go back to the old ways, they see they have way less than the other side.  Rob Lynburn goes and tells the townspeople that they must give him a sacrifice of one person on the fall equinox.  On the night it is to happen, they must all go to see if they can find a way to defeat his side.  Kami refuses to sit and let the magical people do all the work, so she does what she does best, investigates.  She tries to find out who all of the sorcerers are, and tries to get a personal item from each in order to maybe create a protection or blocking spell for the sorcerers on their side.  Kami uses her paper, The Nosy Parker, to get the message out to the students.  But as much as her mother has tried to keep all of this secret from her father, he finds out.  And now, Kami is not only worried about the town, she is worried about her mother and father not being able to repair this breach of trust.  And in the end, the Lynburns will do something to her family to try to win the war, and they will all have to decide what is left of their family.  And Kami must figure out if she and Jared are really over, if Ash is really going to be the nice guy he seems, or maybe it will be Angela's charming and humorous older brother Rusty who wins her over.
If you haven't read this series yet, you need to give it a try.  It's such a good read, such a smooth read, and like I said, a laugh out loud at times read!  My one complaint about the first book was the cover, but I'm much happier with this cover.  And now, how long do I have to wait for the 3rd book?  Too long!!

And as promised, some pictures of the author from when I met her.  First, a picture of me with her (I look like such a dork, but I was so excited!):


Next is a fun picture from one of the panels I saw her on.  She was timing all the authors as they read from their books, and as they got too close to the end time, she would go up and pretend she was choking them.