Diese und weitere Rezensionen findet ihr auf meinem Blog Anima Libri - Buchseele

Mit dem ersten Band ihrer „Die Erleuchtete“-Serie, „Die Erleuchtete: Das Dunkel der Seele“, hat mich Autorin Aimee Agresti wirklich überraschen können – das Buch hat mir deutlich besser gefallen, als ich es erwartet hätte und dem entsprechend habe ich mir auch vom zweiten Band so einiges erhofft. Und glücklicherweise hat „Die Erwählte: Der Ruf des Bösen“ meine Erwartungen durchaus erfüllen können.

Allerdings sind die Figuren, genau wie schon im ersten Band, wirklich nicht die tiefsten oder vielschichtigsten. So waren mir die drei Protagonisten zwar durchaus sympathisch, stellenweise sind sie aber nach wie vor wandelnde Klischees und gerade die neuen Nebenfiguren, die hier im Laufe der Geschichte auftauchen, bleiben doch sehr flach. Trotzdem haben mir die Charaktere gut gefallen, ich habe zugegebenermaßen auch nicht allzu viel Tiefgang erwartet.

Erneut war es vor allem die Atmosphäre, die die Autorin hier schafft, die mich in den Bann dieser Geschichte gezogen hat. Im Gegensatz zu vielen anderen Büchern über Engel sind Aimee Agrestis Romane nicht einfach nur kitschig und weichgespült, sondern haben einen sehr düsteren Unterton. Das liegt nicht zuletzt daran, dass die Autorin in ihren Romanen Geschichten der klassischen Schauerliteratur als Grundlage nutzt. Während im ersten Teil „Das Bildnis des Dorian Gray“ als Motiv herhalten musste, ist es hier nun „Der seltsame Fall des Dr. Jekyll und Mr. Hyde“.

Zwar fand ich die Umsetzung hier nicht ganz so gut gelungen wie im ersten Band, aber die düstere, schaurig-schöne Atmosphäre ist vorhanden und kommt vor der Kulisse New Orleans, die die Autorin sehr schön zum Leben erweckt, hervorragend rüber. Für mich war es wirklich diese Atmosphäre, die dieses Buch so fesselnd gemacht hat. Zusammen mit dem sehr schönen, oft bildhaften Schreibstil der Autorin und die Spannung, die hier von der ersten Seite an vorhanden ist, ergibt das eine zwar nicht perfekte, aber trotzdem für mich sehr unterhaltsame Geschichte.

Alles in allem hat mir Aimee Agrestis „Die Erleuchtete: Der Ruf des Bösen“ erneut ausgesprochen gut gefallen, es ist trotz einiger Schwächen, die ich allerdings gerade im Bereich der Charaktere nicht anders erwartet habe, eine sehr schöne Fortsetzung, die ich Fans des ersten Bandes nur empfehlen kann.

I don't quite know what to say about this one. I don't really have a strong opinion, good or bad. Haven's continuing journey towards becoming a full-fledged angel was interesting and some parts were exciting but the book as a whole moved really slowly. I also thought it was entirely too predictable. From the very beginning I could predict all of the major plot points and I wasn't wrong about any of them.

Despite those things I still enjoyed the book enough that I want to read the next one to find out what happens to Haven, Lance, Dante and the rest of the characters. You won't find anything mind-blowing here, but it's still a fun read and I would recommend it to fans of angels and demons.
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VOYA Rating: 4Q 4P

Highly Recommended

This is the second book of the Gilded Wings series. Haven, Lance and Dante made it out of their Chicago ordeal happy to be alive. Since they are all good students, they decided to finish high school early and go volunteer in New Orleans for a semester. Connor recruits Haven and she convinces Lance and Dante to go with her. When they get to their new place, they begin to realize that there are more angels-in-training- like them. New Orleans happens to be the stomping ground of the Krewe, under control of the devil. Their biggest prize is to turn the soul of an angel instead of just another human. In the meantime, Haven and Lance are drifting apart and Lucian is secretly trying to redeem his soul.

The description of New Orleans is post-Katrina. Many of the major landmarks are integrated into the story. There is a bit of a dark side based on the crime statistics that plague the city in real life. The writing flows really well. It is action packed, although there is not as much romance as in the first book (because Haven chose Lance). Their powers continue to develop as they learn more about themselves and what they are supposed to do.

I think angel stories are really popular right now. Many high school girls really enjoy reading them. There is the classic fight between good and evil, but the setting and the idea of the Krewe seems to be really unique. This is a fun, quick read. Perfect for an escape into the world of fiction. I would put this book on either an angel or paranormal fiction display. Those with an interest in New Orleans and its lore would also enjoy this book. The book ends with a cliff hanger and most readers will be looking forward to the third installment. ( )

Despite being overly long and detailed, I am one of the ones who did enjoy reading Illuminate, the first book in this series. I liked the different sort of angel and devil lore being used, and really found myself drawn to some of the characters. I was therefore quite excited to read Infatuate; I was hoping that Ms. Agresti learned from some of the issues in the first book (like the slowly-developing plot), and that I'd come away enjoying this one even more. I'm happy to report that, for me at least, that was definitely the case. While some aspects of the book were repetitive (like the Krewe's continuous nights of chaos), I still found myself moving through this one a bit more quickly, and becoming much more engrossed in the story and characters.

One thing I do want to mention is that this book should not be read if you haven't read Illuminate. The second installment makes continuous references to the events of the first book, and while some of it is explained, you will be much better able to understand the dynamic between Haven and Lucian, which is a very big driving force in this book. I don't want to go too in depth about this, because I'd like this review to be as spoiler free as possible, but Lucian's current situation is definitely the cause of some of Haven's decision making, and I think knowing their previous history makes it more poignant and really helps the reader understand why she's so determined to help him. Considering that her doing so is what helps bring about the climax of this book, it's rather important that the reader be invested in their relationship, and I'm just not sure you can be as emotionally connected if you don't read the first book.

Speaking of Lucian, I am a reader who is not normally "team" anything when it comes to character relationships. I'm pretty happy to just go along with what the author decides is the way to go most of the time, but with this series in particular, I am very firmly rooting for Lucian and Haven. I simply find Lucian to be the more compelling, interesting character. Haven is very "good"; she's a tad too all-powerful, a tad too intelligent. Because Lance is very similar to her, their relationship is ... kind of boring. It also didn't help that Lance and Haven get caught up in a very strange love square. Lance's actions during this time don't exactly endear him to the reader, and even when it's "explained" I still found him to be a bit of a jerk. Lucian is at least honest with her and doesn't keep playing with her emotions. He is what he is, you know? Lucian just helps to bring a spark to the pages, and gives Haven a different sort of vibe and light, if you will. I simply find myself much more invested in their interactions and actively rooting for them to get together. I'm sure that, in the end, I'm going to be disappointed with the outcome, but I'm still hoping for many more Lucian/Haven moments in the third book.

I also adored Dante in this book. Talk about someone who has undergone some serious character growth! I love that he's a major player now, and the fact that he gets his moments to shine. I just love the fact that he's an openly gay character, and not only has his own unique abilities and powers, but also a very cute relationship that gets developed in this book. You don't always see gay angels, so, for me, that's an added perk to this series. I'm looking forward to more Max/Dante moments, and can't wait to see how his abilities might change and grow in the next book.

Infatuate is a very solid second book. There's enough development not only in the characters but the plot to keep readers engaged and looking forward to the end of the series. It does have a semi-cliffhanger at the end, but it felt like a natural progression to me, particularly since the word "sacrifice" kept getting thrown around throughout the book. My one complaint is that the Krewe in this book was fairly one-dimensional; you didn't get to see what made them want to become what they are like you did with the "bad" guys in the first book, and some of their antics became repetitive by the end. But there was still a good tension in this book which was sometimes missing from the first installment, and kept me eagerly turning pages. I'm definitely looking forward to what comes next!

An e-galley was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Eeek! I need to know when it's coming out ):

EDIT 9/3/2012: WTF? Why is the cover so... (to put it bluntly) ugly? Please tell me that it's going to change...