"Midnighters 2: Touching Darkness" by Scott Westerfeld

Midnighters 2: Touching Darkness - Scott Westerfeld (released 2004)

(Book 2 of Midnighters series)

Book one - Midnighters: The Secret Hour - was so good!  I couldn't wait to read the second book, but I was so disappointed with this sequel.

The Midnighters are searching for the truth about the secret hour and discover that there are daylighters who know about the secret hour, and are working with the ancient creatures in the secret hour against the Midnighters.

The premise sounds very exciting, but it was a s-l-o-w read.  The book is 439 pages, but it would have been a better story if the book was cut in half.  I felt like there was so much filler in the book that wasn't needed.  The author spent too much time on Jessica's frustration with Jonathan not touching her during daylight hours and little things that lead up to the big climax, that I didn't feel like were necessary to the overall story.  I had trouble wanting to read this book, until page 213 when things FINALLY picked up.  Once it got interesting, I stayed up late until I finished it.  But I almost called it quits in the beginning because it was so boring.  However, the way they left Touching Darkness makes me want sot read the third installment.  I just hope it's pacing it like The Secret Hour, which I couldn't put down, and not Touching Darkness, or I may not care to keep reading the series.

Final thought: The first book was so good I'm willing to forgive the pacing of the second book for the sake of continuing the series.  The second half was really exciting and a page turner, and I wish the whole book was like that, because I felt like the first book, The Secret Hour, was.

"Point of Origin" by Amanda Havard

THE SURVIVORS: POINT OF ORIGIN - Amanda Havard (released June 2012)

(Book two of the The Survivors series)

I was given Point of Origin before I read the original book, The Survivors.  I hate reading books out of order, so I ordered the first book, and I wasn't overly impressed.  However, I really enjoyed Point of Origin! 

Point of Origin is about Sadie's quest to save her existing family from the rogue vampires that were once her family.  The only way to do this is to uncover where their kind came from - their point of origin - and if there is a way to stop the vampires from destroying the Survivors.  Long the way, Sadie discovers a whole other side to Everett and the Winters, and questions how she really feels about Cole Hardwick.

Perhaps I enjoyed Point of Origin more than The Survivors because I was already invested in the characters - Sadie, Everett, Mark, and Cole - and therefore cared out their trials and tribulations; or maybe because the book wasn't all about searching for a way for an immortal to off herself.  I think Amanda Havard found the perfect pacing in this book.   The first book went too slow and didn't make me yearn to keep reading it, but I actually looked forward to having time to read Point of Origin!  I felt there was more depth to this book, with honoring yourself, learning how to love the good with the bad, and trusting in your elders.  The story had me constantly questioning who Sadie could really trust and who was trying to deceive her, which I really enjoyed!  The story was constantly moving forward, (instead of losing focus like The Survivors) adding more mystery into the mix with every answer Sadie tried to find.  It was a constant and steady build up to an exciting climax, with and ending that makes you gasp.  I am now hooked and want to know what happens between the Winters, Sadie, the Survivors, and Cole!  I need to read the third book!!

Final thought:  Point of Origin is 100% better than the first book - The Survivors.  Point of Origin kept me interested and wanting to read more.  I actually felt sympathetic towards Sadie, which I didn't in the first book, and I wanted to go along on this journey with her.  If you could make sense of Point of Origin without reading The Survivors first, I would recommend it.  However, you'll need to read the first book to understand some of the bigger issues Point of Origin.

"The Survivors" by Amanda Havard

THE SURVIVORS - Amanda Havard (released April 2011)
(Book one of the The Survivors series)

I wouldn't have picked up this book on my own.  The only reason I ordered it was because I got an Advanced Reader's Copy of the second book of the series and I didn't want to start on book 2.

In 1692, twenty-six children were accused of being witches in Salem, Massachusetts.  Instead of being executed, the children were lead into the middle of nowhere in the dead of winter and left to die, but fourteen of them survived.  Not only did these fourteen survive, but they discovered they were immortal, and each had an unique superpower.  Throughout the centuries, they reproduced and built an isolated colony (a lot like the one in M. Night's "The Village") to raise their descendants.  Each Survivor stops aging around the age of the twenty and develops their power.  The Survivors have told their descendants that humans and the outside world are evil, but that doesn't stop Sadie from wanting to leave.  After 145 years, she finally leaves, and discovers that the Survivors aren't the only immortals in the world.

The book has a really slow start.  I almost stopped reading it, but once you get past the first three chapters it starts to pick up.  The book feels like Twilight meets "The Village" meets... something else I read recently.  I found it hard to sympathize with the protagonist, Sadie, and her quest to find out what she is and how to kill herself.  It's a different concept having someone who wants to end their immorality, but it also goes against her Puritan religion that they bring up several times.  So does the villages' idea on procreating outside of wedlock.  I felt like there were several issues with her ideals matching the religion that she was raised in, which leads to a big question mark about the love story in the book.  I like Everett and the Winter family, but I don't feel all that invested in Everett and Sadie's love affair.  I WANT to care, but I just don't yet.

I liked discovering the different immortal/supernatural species long with Sadie.  Different myths about supernatural creatures always fascinated me.  I liked seeing how this author thought different species lived, what they were called, and what powers they possessed.  I found that fascinating.

Final say: Overall, the story did pique my interest enough to read the second book, but it took a while for me to get invested in the story.  I don't feel this book is a "must read", and I never would have been compelled to read it if I hadn't received the second book first.  I feel like there are better supernatural/forbidden love/morality-questioning stories out there than The Survivors.  Ultimately, I would pass on this book.