Whisper The Dead
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: BUY
Source: Copy courtesy of the Author/Publisher
Check out my review of the previous book A Breath Of Frost.....here.
Cousins Gretchen, Penelope and Emma, since finding out they're witches, are now dealing with trying to master their powers, a feat that is proving...painful for Gretchen. Her power manifests as hundreds of voices talking at once and there's some rather unpleasant side effects of straining herself using it. Such is the burden of being a Whisperer. The incessant buzzing of the voices lets her know when any witches spell has gone wrong.
Since the events at the end of Breath Of Frost, the girls have each been assigned a Keeper to keep an eye on them (hardeharhar), Emma gets the joys of Virgil, Penelope gets the decent Ian and Gretchen....she gets Tobias who's face would probably crack in half if he smiled. Although when things take a turn for the menacing and very creepy, he's quite handy to have around, even if he isn't what he seems. You see, bodies have been dug up, warlock magic is being worked, and Sophie....she's escaped. Not to mention Emma is on a quest to release Ewan from the Underworld, a quest that goes downhill when Virgil takes her measure, and well.....it's too spoilery to continue. But there's mayhem shall we say.
Gretchen must master her power to help fight against the evil menacing Mayfair, as well as the help of Penelope, Emma, everyone's favourite Madcap Moira, her little gargoyle Pip, and the ever icy and always irresistible Tobias Lawless. No-one is who they seem, someone has changed allegiances, things get tragic and the Greymalkin Sisters will rise again....or will they?
No. So much no. No. No. No. I finished this at like 4am, okay and I'm typing this at nearly 6pm. It still hasn't sunk in. Tragic? TRAGIC?! Absolutely heartbreaking and UGH. No. I can't even. How could you Alyxandra?! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO US!? *ugly sobbing*
This installment is....well....it's a lot more emotional, obviously, than the first, and the stakes are definitely raised. Virgil, it has to be said, is a total dick, I knew it in the first book, but in this one I mean....can someone just.....I don't know...get rid of him? Somehow? Because seriously. SUCH a douche. So much hate for him. So much. I also had a lot of negative feelings towards the Order in this book, they where more present than in the previous book, you saw more of them, and what you did see just made you wonder why the witches don't just rise up and take them out, because if I was treated like how the Order treats them....I would be like raaargghhh *hits with magic* etc. They caused some rage, but injustice always makes me grrrrr.
Although from an actor-y, I Have To Find The POV Of Every Character, you can see why people go against them and to be honest, the fine line the girls walk between obeying them and still helping them even though they treat them like crap after saving them, and just.....letting them get wiped out by Sophie to be honest. Or going full Warlock and getting rid of them themselves.
The only good thing about the douchey Order being all kidnappery and just ugh, is that Aunt Bethany went totally badass. I mean....seriously, I love her even more because she just took none of their shit, and I so loved seeing more of her character and a slightly deeper glimpse of her. More please! Not to mention Theodora being all "WHERE THE HELL IS MY DAUGHTER". So badass. I'm waiting for Gretchen's mum to finally snap and join in.
Emma and Cormac are still my favourite, the bit at the end! THE QUESTION HE ASKED! I can't even. So much cute and all the warm and fuzzies. I had the same thing with Drake Chronicles, Lucy and Nick are still my favourite, the other couples are cute, but the first couple is usually the one I like best. I just love Cormac being all....Cormac haha. I'm feeling like Emma is walking a very fine line between Warlock magic at this stage, but I'm not entirely sure? I'm intrigued to see what's going to happen to her and her father when she brings him back, because the Order won't be happy, I'm also excited to see the Cormac and Emma thing play out in Society....it's going to be interesting. And don't worry Emma fans, while the majority of the book is from Gretchen's hilarious POV, with a few POV's from Tobias, we also get lots of Emma as well as Penelope and Moira! Emma is just as feisty as ever, it has to be said! I loved Gretchen and her disdain for the rules of Society, I mean, if I was her, I'd be acting like her too! She wants to fight and defend herself and I loved that about her so much in this installment!
I really, really am liking Daphne. I hated her in the first book, but this time round....you see more of the girl under the bitchy exterior and you see she's a lot more....vulnerable? Fragile? Than she leads you to believe with her hard facade. I really liked seeing the real Daphne, as it where, and I liked her being a total magical badass, and helping even though she was told no and wanting to fight as well, and man I loved her and Gretchen getting on! I need to see loooaaddss more of it in the next installment and I'm hoping Daphne is gonna team up with Gretchen to save everyone's asses!
Guess who's back....back again.....shady's back.....tell a friend......
Oh yes. Remember psycho Sophie? She's back. She's as shady as ever, and she's still crazy. She's also got a friend. It turns out her plan goes a lot deeper than we originally thought from the previous book, like I was totally unsuspecting. In this book, I pretty much didn't know what some things meant, or realize they where clues, or even realized what was happening...until the big thing happened and I was like...OH. And all the pieces fit together, not just with Sophie and her evil master plan, but with Virgil and his cord.
I really thought I knew the direction this series was going in, you know, a book for each cousin with their love story and some mystery, danger and magic, with all of it being wrapped up at the end but still leaving you wanting more; But I did not see this horrendous cliffhanger coming, like how am I supposed to function in the wait for the next book. I mean.....shit got real. Really real. Things have been set up for the next book, and it's all high stakes and immense danger. So I need the next book NOW. This book is definitely filed under the books that make you scream and want to throw it, or ya know....flat out throw it, right before you pick it back up and re-read it!
I mean...after Drake Chronicles, I shouldn't have let myself be lulled in to a false sense of security, I should have been on guard but NOPE!
Whisper The Dead is a fantastic sequel to a unique and truly enchanting series. Fast paced, full of action, humour, magic, mystery, twists and turns in a complex plot that you will not see coming, things are being set up all the time with subtle clues, and even if you pick up on them....you don't realize what they mean until it's right in front of your face! The board has been set for another explosive installment, and said complex plot has ratcheted up the tension, danger, stakes and general seriousness despite the moments of laugh out loud humour. The characters we love so much each get their own say, as we see different points of view, each change in POV perfectly timed, and in this installment we get a better understanding of Gretchen as she meets her perfect match.
The vivid world of The Lovegrove Legacy will suck you back in and you'll happily spend hours lost in the web of a plot where nothing is what it seems. The rules of Society and the rules of the Order are about to blown apart and things are going to change. This is one of my favourite series, and I cannot tell you properly how unique, and generally awesome this series, and this installment is. I mean....I've never read anything like it and I'm so excited to see how things are going to grow and change in the next installment to expand on what happened in this one!
