The Sapphire Talisman (Talisman, #2) by Brenda Pandos
See my review for The Emerald Talisman here.
Author’s Website: http://brendapandos.blogspot.com/
Book Website: http://www.theemeraldtalisman.com/
Paperback, 320 pages
Published December 15, 2010 by Obsidian Mountain Publishing
ISBN: 9780982903322
Summary:
With the local vampire coven decimated, Julia and Nicholas try to begin a somewhat normal life together. Bound by secrecy from a shape shifter determined to see Julia’s world-saving prediction come to fruition, Julia isn’t allowed to tell Nicholas the leader survived, ransacking her happiness with guilt. When Alora returns, bent on revenge, the reunion forces Nicholas and Julia to choose what they are willing to live and die for.
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Review:
The thought of her locked up in the science lab all weekend seemed funny.—Julia in The Sapphire Talisman by Brenda Pandos.
The Sapphire Talisman is book two in the Talisman Series and what a breath of fresh air it is! Pandos moves forward instead of back when it comes to her writing style. It’s obvious she’s matured and grown along with her main character, Julia. In this book we see the relationship between Julia and Nicholas grow, which was needed after their quick love story in The Emerald Talisman. Of course, as soon as we see their relationship come together, they get ripped apart and a new man shows up in Julia’s life. Someone we’ve seen before, but I can’t tell you or else I’d spoil it! Let’s just say that I love this character deeply and fawned over him the entire time. We finally find out what the heck is up with Alora and Enigma (whose name is actually Scarlett). Julia goes on a kind of soul-searching journey—at least that was how I saw it. She grows as a person and finally moves out of that younger teen stage.
What did I love about this book? First of all, Pandos does not lack with the action, romance, or excitement. Any time the novel began to slow down, it quickly sped back up and caught me up in a whirlwind of action. There were times my heart was gripped with worry and others when I wanted to weep along with Julia. Also, Julia seems to gain more of a personality and shows she isn’t all perfect and sweet. The relationship between her and Enigma (aka Scarlett) was hilarious and caused me to laugh out loud several times. I love it when a book can do that to me. Besides the characters that seem to come off the pages, the plot changed from unoriginal to fantastical! I honestly had no idea where Pandos was going at the end and found myself going through the pages so fast I had to go backward to reread a few times. Oops. I guess she drew me in a little too well.
All in all, The Sapphire Talisman is sure to shine, and possibly outshine The Emerald Talisman. Pandos has weaved such a lyrical and beautiful story that I can’t wait to see what she does next. Watch out, Pandos is on the rise!
Enter to win a giveaway of this book that ends on its release date, December 15, 2010.
