Sophie Reads YA: Janet B. Taylor

Waiting on Wednesday: Sparks of Light (Into the Dim #2) by Janet B. Taylor

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ARC Review: Sparks of Light (Into the Dim #2) by Janet B. Taylor

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Sparks of Light
Series: Into the Dim #2
Author: Janet B. Taylor
Published August 1st 2017 by HMH Books for Young Readers

Goodreads Synopsis
For the first time in her life, Hope Walton has friends . . . and a (maybe) boyfriend. She’s a Viator, a member of a long line of time-traveling ancestors. When the Viators learn of a plan to steal a dangerous device from the inventor Nikola Tesla, only a race into the past can save the natural timeline from utter destruction. Navigating the glitterati of The Gilded Age in 1895 New York City, Hope and her crew will discover that high society can be as deadly as it is beautiful.
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

Books about time travelling seem to be in right now, and this series is as good as all the others, if not better. Into the Dim was a fantastic debut, and it's sequel just built on that, and grew into perfection.

In Sparks of Light, Hope is getting used to being back in the present time, in Scotland, complete with her previously lost mother, and new baby sister. She has a new family and friends, and a kind of boyfriend, but he's stuck in the enemy camp, so it's difficult. As a Viator, she is doing good in the world, ensuring that the enemy doesn't do anything to jeopardise the future. However, when she has to go back to 19th century New York, and meet with the legendary Nikola Tesla himself, she finds herself in danger of never being able to return home.

Hope is a character who grows more and more every time we meet. Now that she has people around her that understand her, and she has reunited with Bran, she has come into her own, and I wish I was her. Obviously, she is feeling stressed, that her mother is back home, though she is still not herself, complete with a baby sister - which leads to her parents marriage breaking down. When she has the opportunity to go on another adventure, and protect the future, she immediately jumps at the chance.

One thing I didn't enjoy was the New York setting, to be honest. Modern history is not a thing I really enjoy, and I found Victorian New York to be a bit boring. I did appreciate how much that Taylor had researched the period, and included real life people in the plot. Parts of the story line were unnecessary here, but I did enjoy the asylum arc.

Bran and Hope's relationship was better than ever, and I find myself wishing they were together more and more! It's unfair that they are forced apart so much, but that's life in a YA Fantasy. Hopefully in book 3, their relationship won't be as chaotic and separate as it has been so far.

I feel as though this book may have fallen in the sophomore slump category. Yes, I enjoyed it, but I didn't love it. I am looking forward to the next instalment, though, and hope that historical era they are sent into is as enjoyable as in Into the Dim.

Dates Read:

April 11-14, 2017

Rating
4 Stars

#RockMyTBR 2016 Challenge

Review: Into the Dim (Into The Dim #1) by Janet B. Taylor

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Into the Dim
Series: Into The Dim #1
Author: Janet B. Taylor
Published March 1st 2016 by HMH Books for Young Readers

Goodreads Synopsis
When fragile, sixteen-year-old Hope Walton loses her mom to an earthquake overseas, her secluded world crumbles. Agreeing to spend the summer in Scotland, Hope discovers that her mother was more than a brilliant academic, but also a member of a secret society of time travelers. Trapped in the twelfth century in the age of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Hope has seventy-two hours to rescue her mother and get back to their own time. Along the way, her path collides with that of a mysterious boy who could be vital to her mission . . . or the key to Hope’s undoing.
Goodreads

Review
Just before Christmas, last year, I decided to preorder a ton of books, and many of them were ones I'd seen on GR and Twitter, loved by bloggers I trust. This book was one of them, but by the time it arrived in March, I was going home for Easter, and then had assignments and revision to contend with. So the first chance I got to read this, was after my exams, and I flew through the book.

Set mainly in Scotland, Hope is sent to her aunt's house, more like castle, and discovers that her mother's disappearance may not simply be because of the earthquake, when she was presumed dead; in fact, her mother is trapped in 12th century England, at the court of Eleanor of Aquitaine. Now that Hope knows about her family connection to a secret group of time travellers, she finds herself having to journey back in time, and save her mother, in less than 72 hours. She's alone, apart from other two teenagers, Collum and Phoebe, and gets drawn to Bran, someone she met in Scotland, in the present day. Now that she's falling for someone from the enemy group of time travellers, she's not only at risk of losing her mother, forever.

I love time travelling books, especially ones that explore historical periods I love. British monarchy is one of my favourite aspect of history to study, and Eleanor of Aquitaine is my favourite queen consort, of all time. Really, it would've been so much better if she just had the crown in her own right, but, let's be honest, she ran the country anyway. I felt as though the period was researched really well, and seemed realistic as you were reading, especially the whole animosity between Eleanor and Thomas Becket.

The main reason why this book isn't a 5 star, is because of the characters. I wasn't too keen on most of them, and they seemed sort of flat. There's a sort of love triangle brewing between Collum-Hope-Bran, but Collum has a lot of work to do, if he wants to be taken seriously. The only time that Hope really seemed to have something about her, was when she was with Bran, and we find out why this is towards the end of the book. I can see that the characters are likely to improve in the sequel, and I am really looking forward to that.

Though I have my reservations about the characters, the plot was really good, and I felt like it has set the series up to be really good. The synopsis mentions being a sort of YA Outlander, and I could see the connections - which was great for how much I love that show. Book 2 can't come soon enough.

Dates Read:

June 20-21, 2016

Rating
4 Stars