Charlie Hartley #2: The Enlightened
by J.D. Stonebridge
The Enlightened is the second novel in the Charlie Hartley series, and there's a brief recap in the beginning for those who have gone a few weeks or months between books, but readers should definitely check out The Unlocked first.
A truly great fulfillment of the promises in the first novel. Replacing the introduction to the fantasy world, special powers, and secret school, are even more action sequences, continued development of who were previously minor characters, and the perfect amount of romance for a story that is not love-centered. J.D. Stonebridge is able to maintain a high level of tension throughout; at times I found myself worrying about characters I knew to be "bad guys", a true testament to the author's skill.
A stereotypical feature in heavily actioned books is to scrimp on character description, but in The Enlightened, readers are treated to several memorable passages. One of my favorites:
Joshua stood in the doorway, with disheveled hair and wearing a shirt with the topmost button undone. [. . .] He looked as if he had just risen out of bed, but he already smelled of strong caffeine.
I loved that the heroine Charlie stays true to herself throughout both novels' progressions.
Charlie had been taught to live her life with patience, kindness, and forgiveness, regardless of the offense committed against her.
It was so refreshing to read about a teenager who honors those values, who treats others with kindness first. This is a heroine to root for, as I have done the past two books, and I look forward to doing in any other sequels to come!
A truly great fulfillment of the promises in the first novel. Replacing the introduction to the fantasy world, special powers, and secret school, are even more action sequences, continued development of who were previously minor characters, and the perfect amount of romance for a story that is not love-centered. J.D. Stonebridge is able to maintain a high level of tension throughout; at times I found myself worrying about characters I knew to be "bad guys", a true testament to the author's skill.
A stereotypical feature in heavily actioned books is to scrimp on character description, but in The Enlightened, readers are treated to several memorable passages. One of my favorites:
Joshua stood in the doorway, with disheveled hair and wearing a shirt with the topmost button undone. [. . .] He looked as if he had just risen out of bed, but he already smelled of strong caffeine.
I loved that the heroine Charlie stays true to herself throughout both novels' progressions.
Charlie had been taught to live her life with patience, kindness, and forgiveness, regardless of the offense committed against her.
It was so refreshing to read about a teenager who honors those values, who treats others with kindness first. This is a heroine to root for, as I have done the past two books, and I look forward to doing in any other sequels to come!