A *wondrous* continuation of this intriguing faerie story... enough
for me to read both books more than once.
In Darklight, Kelley and Sonny's relationship doesn't quite go
where we expected it to go from where we left off in Wondrous
Strange and hits quite a few major bumps along the way in this
second installment. They initially start out apart in book 2
because Sonny had to go back to the Otherworld to kill the rogue
hunters left from the awakening of the Wild Hunt in WS. Sonny has
to stay and finish his extremely dangerous "assignment". All the
while in the mortal realm, Kelley is not only worrying about Sonny,
but is also dealing with the realization that she is a REAL faerie
princess, and is quite amazed at her own powers -- what she still
has left of them, that is, after her father King Auberon, took his
half of the powers she was born with (but veiled throughout her
growing up by a powerful/magical clover charm necklace). She is
also starring in another play... Romeo and Juliet (yes... there is
a bit of a tie in.) While Sonny is away... Fennrys seems to have
taken over the role of watching over and protecting Kelley... and
rescues her on a regular basis. Fenn is shaping up to be the
potential third party in the inevitable love triangle that seems to
be heavily hinted in this installment and will likely be further
developed in book 3... we'll see how that plays out...
It also seems that Sonny has some special powers of his own that we
witness in a fit of rage close to the end of Darklight (and we find
out who HIS real father is - thus explaining his unique powers).
I loved the greater focus on some of the secondary characters...
such as Fennrys, Tyff and Maddox. Upon rereading the books, I
actually really liked Tyff... she is a great friend to Kelley, and
she's very wise for a diva-faerie. We also learn much more about
Queen Mabh and her involvement of all that has transpired that has
lead up to where we are now.
We also get to finally meet Titania (Queen of the Summer Court and
sometimes love interest of King Auberon) in this installment... she
is someone who Kelley can't help but feel in awe. She offers her
help to Kelley but can Kelley really trust her??? Her instincts
tell her no!
Another facet to this story is that Kelley's biological father,
Auberon, becomes deathly ill following the deal he made with Kelley
at the end of WS where he took "his" half of her powers (all she is
left with now is the powers she inherited from her mother). All
aspects of this story seem to be weaved together, and leading to a
conclusion in book 3... Tempestuous.
The only sore point I have with Darklight is that I so desperately
wished there were more Kelley & Sonny moments... those two are
(and could be more) magical together... although, I understand why
the story is going this way as a whole. Just part of me wishes I
didn't start this series till the last book in the trilogy was
out... so I could read them back to back. The wait for the next
book is going to drive me insane!!!
The story flowed so nicely... it was like dominoes... each scene
led to the next, with a full purpose. I could hardly put this book
down and spent any minute of free time squeezing some reading in.
While I absolutely love this story thus far... the ending was
heart-breaking and left us hanging for a happier conclusion in
Tempestuous. I had a lump in my throat upon closing the book, and
am dying to see everything (hopefully) resolved in the last
installment... due out in December 2010, I believe.