Rise

Much like the last book I reviewed, the heroine in this sequel to Rift is a red headed firebrand. Ember has fled the chaos of the night her mentor was killed. She is in the company of the love of her life, Barrow and the knights who are trying to stop the evil that has been unleashed on the world. She finds herself on the opposite side of her childhood best friend Alistair who is becoming increasingly hostile towards the fact that she doesn't return his desires. And then their is the Lord Mar. He commands the wraiths of another reality that can't be stopped. Mar won't stop until all the power is his. He uses Alistair to create a new evil to be unleashed on the world. Ember must put herself at risk to keep the knights plan in motion to close the gate between this world and Mar's. It will take great sacrifice and determination to pull off their plan. Will Ember be able to convince Alistair she is on his side? Can she hide her love for Barrow? Will her sister be used as a pawn in the evil machinations of Eira and Mar? Yikes, that's a lot of questions! I will say that most of these are answered, and I know this is a prequel to a series I haven't read yet, but  I feel like this one left me hanging! Will there be a third prequel? Will Cian's sacrifice be fulfilled? And what the heck happened to Kael? I totally enjoyed this book and the characters. Barrow is definitely top ten material and Ember is yet another non-damsel in distress. She could totally hang with Rachel from Defiance and Katsa from Graceling. It would be like another realm Charlie's Angels... Hey, there's an idea for a book... I look forward to reading the actual series this is based on Nightshade with my mini book club in January. Until then, the pile of unread books calls me and the weather is like summer, so off to my patio I go- maybe to finish Marie Lu's series, maybe to start a new one. I haven't made up my mind yet. Happy reading my friends and Merry Christmas Eve!