*Received e-book through Read It and Reap program from the Shut Up and Read! Goodreads group from author;
**Also posted on Amazon.com under Leanne

Resurrection continues the story of Maddie Pearce and Rayn Yarrister from the first book of the Guardians of Vesturon series, Survival. It begins where Survival left off, with the kidnapping and torture of Maddie at the hands of the serial killer, Darryl. As done previously, Hargrove divides the novel into four books, 1) Maddie’s rescue by Rayn’s brothers and her recuperation, 2) Rayn’s trial on Vesturon with the Council of Elders, the discovery of the conspirators, and the revelation of Maddie’s heritage, 3) Maddie’s exploration of her newfound abilities, and separation from Rayn, 4) Rayn’s rescue, the end of the conflict with the Xanthians (another race), and the conclusion of Maddie’s and Rayn’s relationship.

Hargrove definitely improved her writing with this book. Firstly, she stuck with a third person narrative throughout the novel, which made the reading of it more consistent and the plot more streamlined. This was in contrast to Survival, where we had multiple POVs, which confused the reader and resulted in disjointed sections throughout the book. Secondly, the character of Maddie underwent drastic development as she transitioned from a human female saved by Rayn and reliant on his family to becoming a much more independent young woman with her own strengths and point of view (hence the title, Resurrection). It was heartwarming and satisfying to see her lose her clumsiness and shyness and grow into a confident woman who could face obstacles without Rayn’s support; e.g. I cheered when she assertively stood up for herself against a bully at the academy and when she made defining decisions in her relationship with Rayn. At the same time, Hargrove managed to maintain Maddie’s charm and wholesomeness despite her transformation. Lastly, I appreciated Hargrove’s ambitious integration of multiple sub-plots with the introduction of new characters, which further illustrated the inner workings of the Guardians and the dynamics within the Yarrister family.

Overall, Resurrection was a delightful sequel, which answered many questions about the Guardians of Vesturon, the relationship between Maddie and Rayn, and Maddie’s role in her new home. Hargrove ends the story with an unexpected twist involving Rykerian, enough of a teaser to definitely interest me in reading the third book, as I love his character and believe he deserves a book of his own. I would recommend this to young adult readers, who are fans of Twilight and of the first book, Survival. ( )

For two star-crossed lovers, two soul mates Madeline “Maddie” Pearce and Rayn Yarrister life is looking pretty bleak. Rayn is imprisoned for breaking a scarred covenant of Vesturon and since he happens to be the first born son to the Vesturon’s leader, things really couldn’t look grimmer. That is until the remaining Yarrister children, with the help of Maddie, decide the time has come to fight for love, a new future and maybe a few changes to the old ways. Unbeknownst to them all, this is only the beginning and destiny has so much more in store.

After finishing Survival, written by A.M.Hargrove, even with all of its issues, bumps and blips along the way; I found myself invested, invested with Maddie Pearce and Rayn Yarrister, invested with as much of the Yarrister family that had been introduced thus far. I had fallen in love with Maddie’s quirks and couldn’t for the life of me figure out how she and Rayn would get past it all. But that’s just it, I wanted to know. So issues, blips, or bumps along the way or not, I picked up Resurrection and jumped right in.

I jumped right in and started reading and I found myself pleasantly surprised.

The reoccurring flashbacks that were and an issue in Survival? Gone. The Point-of-View jumping from character to character? That’s not entirely gone but it is handled in a much gentler manner. I can’t tell you how freeing it was to see, or not see for that matter, that these two major issues were gone like a bad dream. Without these two blips, speed bumps in the road if you will, it allows Resurrection to have the space it needs to open up – both in character depth and description of location and plot.

I won’t give away any spoilers, that’s not my style, but I will tell you this. I connected with the characters of Resurrection in a way that I wasn’t able to connect with them in Survival. It didn’t matter what type of emotionally charged situation any of them were going through, I felt as if I were there sharing that time with them. All of A.M.’s characters became a bit more 3-Dimensenial in Resurrection.

The characters weren’t the only thing to become more 3-Dimensenial. A.M.’s decsriptions of Vesturon were beautiful and detailed. I could feel Maddie’s reactions to Vesturon – the good, the bad, the indifferent. It was wonderful. It felt as if I were there with her; experiencing everything through her eyes and various, other senses for the first time.

My only qualm about the book is when the differences between how things are done one Earth and how things are done on Vesturon are explained. Rather than continuing on the journey and exploration that Maddie has already begun, it feels cold and mechanical. Almost as if A.M. was looking for a way in which to take up space and fill up time. So something that could have been very curious and full of wonder for both Maddie and the reader had turned cold and clinical.

That aside, I believe Resurrection to be a fantastic journey where many of the loose-ends from Survival are neatly tied up. And a few new ends are left dangling, leaving the reader to wonder, “Where will we go from here”?
(I received this book for free from the author to read and review.) ( )