Review: IN THE FORESTS OF THE NIGHT by Kersten Hamilton

IN THE FORESTS OF THE NIGHT: The Goblin Wars, Book 2

Official blurb:

The battle against goblinkind continues . . . but which side will Teagan be on?

                                                                                                                                               

Teagan, Finn, and Aiden have made it out of Mag Mell alive, but the Dark Man’s forces are hot on their heels. Back in Chicago, Tea’s goblin cousins show up at her school, sure she will come back to Mag Mell, as goblin blood is never passive once awoken. Soon she will belong to Fear Doirich and join them. In the meantime, they are happy to entertain themselves by trying to seduce, kidnap, or kill Tea’s family and friends. Tea knows she doesn’t have much time left, and she refuses to leave Finn or her family to be tortured and killed. A wild Stormrider, born to rule and reign, is growing stronger inside her. But as long as she can hold on, she’s still Teagan Wylltson, who plans to be a veterinarian and who heals the sick and hurting. The disease that’s destroying her—that’s destroying them all—has a name: Fear Doirich. And Teagan Wylltson is not going to let him win.

TYGER TYGER (the first book in The Goblin Wars series) was one of my favorite novels in 2010. I was terribly excited when I received an ARC of IN THE FORESTS OF THE NIGHT--and a bit worried. Frankly, I’ve read a number of second books this year which were letdowns and I was hoping it wouldn’t be the case with this one.

Though IN THE FORESTS OF THE NIGHT is slightly different than TYGER TYGER, it was definitely not a disappointment.

Rather than being trapped in the doldrums of reiterating book one, like happened in the other second books I read,  IN THE FORESTS OF THE NIGHT dove right into the action—or more correctly into a house crammed with fun characters and their interrelationships. The back story from TYGER TYGER was revealed, but at a rate and manner which didn’t distracted from the ongoing story.  And the writing was as excellent as in the first novel.

Everyone from TYGER TYGER returned in this book, and their dilemmas wove in and out of the main plot. Teagan and Finn’s romance blossomed with realistic sizzle, trepidation and humor. Here and there, I feared I might get lost in the pandemonium and huge cast of characters--but I never did. Kerstin Hamilton’s ability to create individualized characters and juggle a host of subplots is amazing.  

The second half of the story moves way from the larger familiar cast and sends Teagen on a fantastic mission, featuring the same awesome blend of Irish Traveler traditions, Christianity and Celtic myth as TYGER TYGER.  Very cool, fast paced, scary and fun.

Oh, and the end--it was perhaps my favorite part of the whole novel. It was totally exciting and satisfying, and at the same time it opened up the story’s world with an unexpected twist. If I’d had book three, I’d have started reading it as soon as I closed IN THE FORESTS OF THE NIGHT.

Bravo to Kersten for a great continuation of The Goblin Wars series!

IN THE FORESTS OF THE NIGHT comes out November 22, 2011. Order it now at your hometown bookstore. Or here’s a link to Amazon if you want to take the easy route. http://www.amazon.com/Forests-Night-Goblin-Wars-Book/dp/0547435606.

 I do recommend ordering and reading TYGER TYGER in preparation for this story.

AND--as if having a wonderful series to read isn’t enough--Kersten Hamilton is hosting a contest for the chance to win $1,000 dollars for your favorite library, live Skytype visits and more! http://home.comcast.net/~kerstenhamilton/Trailer/IFN_trailer.html

ALSO, I’ll be posting an interview with Kersten in the near future. Be sure to stop by, check it out and leave questions for Kersten.  By the way, I’m taking a class in crafting sexual tension and I plan on quizzing Kersten about how she achieves such wonderful romantic sizzle in a story packed with characters and action.

AND if you’d like to know more about TYGER TYGER here’s my review http://patesden.livejournal.com/74481.html?thread=418033