Review of Resistance by Stephanie Judice and International Giveaway

Goodreads Book Description: The world is covered in darkness. A constant gray pall reminds the Setti that reapers are still here—watching, waiting, hunting. Gabe, Clara, and their clan must leave the relative safety of Beau Chêne, Louisiana, in order to train with others gathering in the north. No one knows what lurks when night falls. Yet, Gabe and Clara both know that they must chance the danger in order to fulfill a dark destiny.

While Gabe grows in confidence, Clara begins to doubt everything, including her feelings for Gabe. Looming between them is a growing chasm. Clara’s constant defiance against Gabe begins to sever the bond between them. New clansman and fellow Guardian, Michael, steps in all too willingly to take Gabe’s place as her confidant and more. Good-looking and self-assured, Clara finds his charms difficult to resist. She wonders why she should resist at all.

Jessie, now a shadow scout, defies the reapers’ malevolent power. She reaches out to Clara, yearning for the impossible—to be free of the reapers’ enslavement.

Beyond Clara’s battle to save a lost loved one and to keep Gabe close to her heart, another threat stirs, whispering to Clara in the dark. Something evil hunts her. Will she listen to the one who calls to her in nightmares and eventually finds her in the flesh? Will she succumb to his will or will she cling to her human soul and her human heart?

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

My Review: I was approached by the author with the second installment of the Setti trilogy, which started with the Rising. I thought Judice was promising then, but was waiting to see what else she would come up with. I was not disappointed. These two books have the same number of stars awarded by me, but I believe this second book is stronger than the first.

In Resistance, we meet up with our band of Setti again, after a confusing and long first chapter (I'll get to that in a moment), and it's a great reunion. I loved the characters in the first book, and we get to see them all again in the aftermath following the first book. We still get alternating perspectives of Clara and Gabe. Clara is still grieving and Gabe tries to give her space. Soon the gang travels and finds another band of Setti, which makes everything more difficult, once the characters realize they have a connection with those Setti with the same power. This leads to some romantic twists and turns. It's interesting because I was not that enamored with Gabe in the first one, but this book (mostly because of some plot twists) has me firmly in his camp. He's still not the most enigmatic character-- that title goes to Jessie, and I hope none of you remembers who she is yet, because I love how she comes back into the story.

So the things I loved: the plot twists, getting to see familiar characters that I really enjoyed the first time around, some solid writing, and a re-introduction of a terrific character and side plot. I love the world building of the Setti and their different powers. I have to say, I rarely get sucked into a book to the point that I don't put it down. This was one of those.

That said, this isn't a perfect book. The first chapter is very distracting because it is a long flashback to their ancestors, and honestly, that was the point where it was hardest to get into the story. If you get stuck here, just scan to the next chapter where you get the characters back. Secondly, I totally do not like Clara at this point. That's okay, it's the second book, she has some time to redeem herself-- but can be a dangerous move, since she was so awesome in the first book. Lastly, Judice falls into a partial trap where a lot of authors do-- since her character numbers are tripling with the meeting of other Setti, it's hard to keep everyone in scenes for us to remember who they are and what their power is. I found myself not remembering or caring that much, but she does do a good job centering the story on the two main characters.

Overall, Judice gets stronger with every book, and if the trend continues, the third should be the strongest of all. 

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