Splendor and Spark by Mary Taranta - OPTIONAL

Splendor and Spark (Shimmer and Burn #2) by Mary Taranta, 320 pages. Margaret K. McElderry Books (Simon & Schuster), 2018. $18.99

Language: PG-13 (20 swears, 0 "f"); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG-13

BUYING ADVISORY: HS – OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Faris feels trapped—by Bryn’s and her mother’s spells, by the poison in North’s blood and her own blood, by the emotional distance that now separates her from Cadence. Saving Cadence has always been Faris’s priority, but now, with Perrote in North’s castle and Merlock out in the Burn somewhere, saving her sister might cost more than Faris ever imagined.

Picking up this book was impossible without rereading the first, and, while that helped me understand the magic of Taranta’s world better, I continued to have a difficult time remembering all the nuances of what had to happen for the heroes to win. Not understanding all the magic, though, did not stop me from needing to know what would happen. I was desperate to get away from the vile antagonists barring every avenue of happiness for the heroes but unable to set the book down because of my insatiable yearning to see the sweet victory I fervently hoped was waiting at the end.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen