About the Book:Title: From the Earth to the Shadows (Valkyrie #2)
Author: Amanda Hocking
Pub. Date: April 24, 2018
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Pages: 336
Rating: 4/5 stars
Synopsis:
Malin’s mission to avenge her mother's murder has uncovered dangerous secrets. As a Valkyrie-in-training, Malin must slay immortals who’ve had their time, to maintain balance between humans and immortals. But her quest could destroy earth’s stability – and unleash chaos.
Just when she needs to focus, her friend Asher is in grave danger. He’s been dragged into the underworld, where vengeful immortals plot revolution. Malin believes her feelings mustn’t distract from her goal – but is desperate to rescue him. So she ventures into the darkest of realms, knowing she may not survive. With new allies at her side and new enemies ahead, Malin will face terrible choices. She’ll have to keep her head – or be ruled by her heart.
Just when she needs to focus, her friend Asher is in grave danger. He’s been dragged into the underworld, where vengeful immortals plot revolution. Malin believes her feelings mustn’t distract from her goal – but is desperate to rescue him. So she ventures into the darkest of realms, knowing she may not survive. With new allies at her side and new enemies ahead, Malin will face terrible choices. She’ll have to keep her head – or be ruled by her heart.
Buy the book here!
About the Author:
Amanda Hocking is the author of over twenty
young adult novels, including the New York Times bestselling Trylle
Trilogy and Kanin Chronicles. Her love of pop culture and all things
paranormal influence her writing. She spends her time in Minnesota, taking care
of her menagerie of pets and working on her next book.
Review:
From the Earth to the Shadows was an exciting finale in the Valkyrie duology! The story picks up right where the previous book leaves off, and we dive right into the story. Amanda Hocking has crafted yet another imaginative, wondrous story that sucks you right in. Her continued world-building was fantastic and the characters experience a lot of growth over the course of the story.
The stakes are much higher this time around for not only Malin, but the entire world. The Underworld is in a state of unrest, which means the threat is looming for the Underworld to rise up and cause chaos on Earth. And it's all up to Malin and her friends to stop that from happening. Meanwhile, Malin's heart is not only torn with Asher being missing/possibly dead, she now has formed a fragile bond with her ex. Now, Malin is not only trying to protect the world but also those she cares about the most. I loved that we saw a different side of Malin throughout this story. She became more vulnerable and open. We already know that she's tough as nails, but this was a refreshing addition to her character. She realized that she didn't need to keep everything all bottled up inside.
The pacing was a little all over the place in this book, which was a little frustrating. There were times when the book was incredibly fast-paced and non-stop excitement. However, there would be these extended periods of time where the story would lag a bit. Even though the story was still interesting, given the urgency of the plot, these scenes just didn't fit with the story as a whole. I kept waiting for them to remember they had a world to save, but they just took their grand ol' time in certain parts. Overall though, there was a lot more action and excitement in this novel than the first book. The action scenes were brilliantly written and were seriously epic.
My only other complaint with the novel was the ending. Everything felt a little rushed and a bit anti-climactic. The resolution to everything almost was a "blink-and-you-miss-it" type thing which upset me. The whole book had been leading toward this epic conclusion and then it just ended. I wanted a little more from this. However, this being said, I did love how much the characters grew over the course of the novel and how much more mature they were by the end. Additionally, I absolutely adore the world that Amanda Hocking has created and it's such an excellent mix of sci-fi, Norse mythology, and fantasy.
I definitely would recommend checking out this sequel/finale in the Valkyrie series. It was a great conclusion to the series, and while I wanted a bit more out of the ending, I was still happy with how the book turned out. If you are a fan of Amanda Hocking, you do not want to miss this one!! I can't wait to see what she writes next!
The stakes are much higher this time around for not only Malin, but the entire world. The Underworld is in a state of unrest, which means the threat is looming for the Underworld to rise up and cause chaos on Earth. And it's all up to Malin and her friends to stop that from happening. Meanwhile, Malin's heart is not only torn with Asher being missing/possibly dead, she now has formed a fragile bond with her ex. Now, Malin is not only trying to protect the world but also those she cares about the most. I loved that we saw a different side of Malin throughout this story. She became more vulnerable and open. We already know that she's tough as nails, but this was a refreshing addition to her character. She realized that she didn't need to keep everything all bottled up inside.
The pacing was a little all over the place in this book, which was a little frustrating. There were times when the book was incredibly fast-paced and non-stop excitement. However, there would be these extended periods of time where the story would lag a bit. Even though the story was still interesting, given the urgency of the plot, these scenes just didn't fit with the story as a whole. I kept waiting for them to remember they had a world to save, but they just took their grand ol' time in certain parts. Overall though, there was a lot more action and excitement in this novel than the first book. The action scenes were brilliantly written and were seriously epic.
My only other complaint with the novel was the ending. Everything felt a little rushed and a bit anti-climactic. The resolution to everything almost was a "blink-and-you-miss-it" type thing which upset me. The whole book had been leading toward this epic conclusion and then it just ended. I wanted a little more from this. However, this being said, I did love how much the characters grew over the course of the novel and how much more mature they were by the end. Additionally, I absolutely adore the world that Amanda Hocking has created and it's such an excellent mix of sci-fi, Norse mythology, and fantasy.
I definitely would recommend checking out this sequel/finale in the Valkyrie series. It was a great conclusion to the series, and while I wanted a bit more out of the ending, I was still happy with how the book turned out. If you are a fan of Amanda Hocking, you do not want to miss this one!! I can't wait to see what she writes next!
Happy reading :)
~Cassie
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