Seit August war ich auf die Fortsetzung gespannt. Und endlich habe dieses Schätzchen, dann in der Hand gehalten. Das Cover ist wie immer wunderschön gestaltet und ein echter Blickfang.
Der Schreibstil der Autorin war, wie schon im ersten Band sehr angenehm zu lesen. Ich hatte zu Beginn allerdings einige kleine Schwierigkeiten mich wieder hineinzufinden. Denn man steigt direkt ein und hat so gut wie keine Rückblenden. Nur wenige Sätze sind ab und an eingefügt worden, aber diese reichten für mich nicht wirklich aus. Irgendwann habe ich mich wieder hinein gefunden, doch ich empfehle eindeutig beide Bände direkt hintereinander zu lesen.
Wie schon im ersten Teil sind unsere Hauptprotagonisten Taylor und Sacha. Die Beiden sind wirklich zusammen wunderbar, aber mir war die Verbindung zwischen den beiden emotional etwas zu kühl und konnte mich nicht wirklich im Herzen berühren. Schade, denn da hatte ich mir wirklich mehr versprochen.
Der Wettlauf gegen die Zeit wurde hier gut dargestellt, aber manches fügt sich einfach zu perfekt und wirkte daher für mich unglaubwürdig. Insgesamt fand ich auch, dass dieser Teil mehr Längen hatte und manches Mal musste ich mich schon dazu durchringen das Buch weiterzulesen. Gegen Ende nimmt die Spannung deutlich zu und die Handlung spitzt sich zu, je näher Sachas Geburtstag rückt.
Letztlich kann ich sagen, dass dieses Buch einen guten Abschluss bildet. Auch genügend Action ist hier vorhanden und es ist eine solide Story für Jugendliche, die ihnen eine spannende Unterhaltung verspricht. Auch als Erwachsener kann man diese Diologie lesen, wobei sicher nicht alle begeistert sein werden.

The Secret City
C.J. Daugherty and Carina Rozenfeld
The Alchemist Chronicles Book #2
YA Fantasy
UK Publisher: Atom

Other Book’s in the Series:
The Secret Fire #1 - Review HERE

Synopsis:

Locked away inside the fortified walls of Oxford’s St Wilfred’s College, Surrounded by alchemists sworn to protect them, Taylor and Sacha are safe from the darkness. For now.

But time is short. In seven days Sacha will turn eighteen, and the ancient curse that once made him invincible will kill him, unleashing unimaginable demonic horror upon the world.

There is only one way to stop it.

Taylor and Sacha must go to where the curse was first cast - the medieval French city of Carcassonne - and face the demons.

The Journey will be dangerous. And the monsters are waiting for them.

But as the darkness descends on Oxford, their choice is stark. They must face everything that scares them, or lose everything they love.

Review:

I enjoyed the first book in this trilogy - and this second one was even better! With more romance, dark deeds and an impending apocalypse, this was a deliciously page turning story.
Generations ago, a curse was cast on Sacha Winters’ family. Since then, every first born son his died on their 18th birthday. Sacha will be the last of his line to die, and with his death, a terrible evil will be unleashed on the world.

Now with his birthday only 7 days away, his only hope of survival lies in Taylor Montclair - an alchemist and the great, great granddaughter of the witch who laid the original curse. But Taylor can’t control her powers, and both demons and dark practitioners will do anything to see the curse fulfilled…

One of the biggest pluses for this book was its romance. Since the book is told from both Sacha and Taylor’s perspective, I loved that we got to see inside both characters heads. We could watch their feelings grow, despite them both having their own reasons for not wanting to become too emotionally invested in the other. I also liked that how what they saw as weakness in themselves, was seen as a strength by the other.

However both characters have a lot of personal development in this book, most especially Taylor. She faces many fears, must learn to control her powers and learns to trust in her own instincts. Sacha on the other hand is troubled by his uncertain future - and the fact that he may just cost Taylor her life. His is a more emotional journey and I really liked how he dealt with every situation.

The setting’s in this book were also rich in life. Oxford College, the french country side, as well as Carcassonne Castle - everything was describe with scents, colours and atmospheric detail. The authors really did a brilliant job in bringing this book to life.

However, one of things I didn't enjoy was the bad guy and his Zombie like creatures. This is simply because I felt in the last book, The Bringers were much scarier villains. However the plot still sucked me in and overall, I enjoyed this book and felt that everything was wrapped up nicely.

4 stars!