Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group for supplying me with an egalley and finished copy of this book to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
When this popped up for request I was super excited. The publisher had sent me the first book to read and review and I really enjoyed it so much more than I thought I would. So when I saw this I jumped on the chance to get a copy. And then a finished copy showed up in the mail for me and I knew it was meant to be.
If you haven't read the first book in this series, stop here as there may be spoilers in this review with regards to that book. And this book picks up right after the first one ends, so you'd be lost if you didn't read that one first! The world that is established in that book as well as the developed characters can only be understood if you have read these books in order.
After the tumultuous summer the James girls had, things are finally settling down. But the Moth Winged Man, always a myth in Caball Hollow but now made real, is still haunting the area. The myth is definitely a reality. While the first book focuses on Linden and Cole, this book focuses on Rowan and Hadrian.
Rowan James continues to scent lies on people tongues as they tell them. And things are not what they seem when she takes a job to help the forest rangers be on the look out for poachers. She isn't expecting to ever see Hadrian Fitch again but he ends up in her path anyway, flitting between her world and the Otherworld. Together they try to solve the mystery of the slowly dying Bone Tree while navigating their attraction to each other.
It's nice that Pearsall does not simply focus on a romance between Rowan and Hadrian. She builds the world out more than what we saw in the first book and gives the characters the space they ned to grow and develope. At the same time, I do wish there was just a bit more of them in that capacity in this book. You can feel their pull to each other but the scenes aren't really there to back it up.
Pearsall does a great job continuing to build the fantasy world that is within the boundaries of Caball Hollow. I feel like the pacing of this one is a bit slower than the first. There were areas where things dragged for me a bit. But the tension, banter, and mystery made up for it and kept me wanting to turn the pages to find out what happens. One of the things that prevented me from giving this book 5 stars was the fact that at some points the story line almost felt disjointed and confusing. I had to turn back pages a few times in order to truly understand what was going on or what had just happened.
Pearsall does a great job with describing the area, though. I've not spent time in this part of the country and I really felt as though I was right there. It was easy to picture the area in my mind.
The ending leaves you seeing there could definitely be a third book if the author chooses, though it does wrap up fairly well. I'm hoping we get to see the stories from the other sisters!
This series would be perfect for people looking for a bit of a spooky read during Halloween season!