Gift of Darkness by Isadora Brown and Rebecca Hamilton

Change of Focus for This Installment

Kelia and Drew are adrift with his crew as they try to figure out their next move. Kelia gets lured by the Sirens. She appears to be in constant danger, and kidnapping is a recurrent theme. Drew is willing to do much to keep her safe, but can he keep her safe from the Queen?

This book feels wholly different from the last one, almost like it is a part of a different series. In one sense, it feels like it’s all about the ladies: the Sirens, Kelia’s mother, and the Queen. The focus until now has been The Society and her father, so this feels like quite a shift. We learn more about the background of the Sirens and the Sea Shadows. Kelia and Drew deepen their relationship.

Unfortunately, this book suffered from two faults. The first is that this book appears to have even more issues with grammar, punctuation, and usage than the last. Words are mistakenly used, words are left in that should have been taken out, and words that should have been omitted are left in. There are also more significant consistency issues, where things are said to be one way in one place but then are different from another. The book needs a good copyeditor, not just a proofreader. The second fault: while I sometimes appreciate a cliffhanger ending, this one seems to be too abrupt.