I was excited to read this book after having stormed through the first one. I enjoy the characters, however in this book, which is 6 months after Kelley learns her turn identity, there is a lot of plot but not a lot of explanation...meaning there is another book...? There was still a lot going on buy the time the book ended, so if you are looking for a finale...even just for the book itself, there isn't one. I found myself skimming through the last of the pages, which lacked dialogue (which was ok, but I was a little upset about) and ended on an angsty note.

I gave it 4 stars because the characters are enjoyable and the plot is continuing on a fairly amusing note. I look forward to seeing where it goes...and there are so many different players in the plot now :). ( )

Yesterday, I had finally finished reading the second book in the Wondrous Strange series! Again, I LOVED IT. I mean, I LOVE IT. It's so wonderfully written. Out of the two books, this one has to be the best. It's a good balance between romance, comedy, and action.

Lesley Livingston never failed to make laugh while reading. Kelley and all the other characters had gotten funnier. I still love Sonny. He's still my favorite character. That romantic Janus guard *sigh*.

In this book, we get to see more of Queen Mabh, Kelley's mother. We get to see her feel a bit more loving towards King Auberon. Although later, you read that Queen Mabh still has...feelings...for Henre. And spoiler alert! Henre is the father of Sonny! Yes! Sonny Flannery that romantic Janus guard who confesses his love for Kelley Winslow, daughter of King Auberon and Queen Mabh. I never knew that King Auberon and Queen Titania were um...together. Fennrys' remark was hilarious followed by Kelley's comical thought, "i so did not need any visuals" (that's not the exact quote, it's just from memory).

The way Lesley Livingston describe places like the places in the Spring court/palace, was just beautiful and lovely. It was calming and peaceful, and nothing like I've ever read about before.

Of course, I spotted nothing wrong with this book. I'm all positive. The Wondrous Strange series is on my favorites list and forever it will stay. I still am in love with the world of Faerie, Unseelie, Seelie, Lesley Livingston has created. It's nothing compared to the drab fairy tale stories (that I still enjoy when I'm utterly bored) that had been told, once upon a time...

In this book we read more about Tyff, and she gets more involved in the story which is great because we get to know more about her and we get to read her witty and humorous remarks and come backs.

Fennrys the Wolf is more involved here and there probably is going to be some kind of Team Fennrys or Team Sonny. If you would like to know, I'm definitely Team Sonny! But Sonny and Fennrys are hilarious together especially earlier in the book when Kelley and Fennrys "drop by" because they had this incident, which you will need to read about! I'm not going to spoil that one.

I loved reading about how Sonny was madly in love with Kelley and he uttered three blissful words that sent my heart hammering in excitement. Sonny is still protective in this book but Kelley also becomes more protective which is why I am ticked at her.

Towards the end of the book we all get to see Tyff, Sonny, Jack, Kelley, and Queen Mabh (yes you heard me, Queen Mabh) fight in action. It's really epic and awesome.

Maddox isn't that involved because he's at Sonny's apartment with Chloe, who he's in love with. I'm pretty sure if you read what Aaneel told Kelley you'd love to kick his snooty butt just like I wanted too.

The end was incredible. I hated Kelley and I'm still ticked off at her right now. She had screamed out loud that she did not love Sonny (IT'S A LIE I TELL YOU! Who with the right mind would not love Sonny Flannery?) I understand why she had but she was so careless...because major spoiler alert: Sonny is missing. Imagine the heartbreak of the guy when he heard Kelley yell at Tyff saying she did not love him. She had to convince herself that she didn't so it wouldn't be hard for her to let go of him. She wanted to protect him from himself and others. You'll find out why in the book. The book ended with such a big cliff hanger that I can't wait to buy the next book, Tempestuous, which comes out at the end of 2010!

So, I suggest you go get your mortal butt down to your nearest book store, hunt down any attendant there and command him to find Wondrous Strange and Darklight, buy it, THEN READ IT. Mark my words, if you do not read it I will gladly hunt you down and use some of my 'secret' magick powers... :D ( )

The second book in this series is another quick, sometimes entertaining read. Unfortunately, as in the first installment, I do not find the love story between the two main characters to be exceptionally compelling, and the dialogue becomes embarassingly cheesy at times, but the overall story and the background characters provide some entertaining moments. ( )

Review posted here: http://offbeatvagabond.blogspot.com/2011/07/book-review-darklight-wondrous-stran...

It has been a half a year for out Faerie (and not so faerie) friends in New York. After suffering through the devastation of the Wild Hunt, Kelley wants her boyfriend, Sonny, back. Sonny, unfortunately, has a duty to fulfill. He is now a fighter for King Auberon, Kelley’s father. Because of a mistake made in Wondrous Strange (book 1), he can’t come back unless he kills the remaining Hunters of the Wild Hunt started by Kelley’s mother, Queen Mabh. So while Kelley is missing Sonny, she thinks she will have some success in seeing him in Central Park. Central Park is where the gate between the mortal world and the Fae world has cracked and things are beginning to creep through the cracks. Unfortunately for Kelley, none of them are Sonny.

I really enjoyed this book. Although I don’t think I liked it quite as much as Wondrous Strange. I love Kelley, but she had a knack for getting herself into trouble. Her going back to the park and getting attacked in the middle of the night made me want to punch her. She has the Janus Guard, but she never took them with her when she ventured into the park where she was always being hunted and that made me want to punch her sometimes. But I love that she is getting into her Fae power which helps her. Whenever we have characters just discovering who they are, they are always apprehensive about working with their powers. They are usually frightened of the fact that they aren’t human. But Kelley grew up fast and learned about her powers. I like that Livingston did that.

I loved all the characters in this. I am a huge Puck (aka Bob) fan. He oozes plenty of personality. Actually, dare I say, he reminds me a bit of Myrnin from the Morganville Vampires series. But my favorite character was Fennrys Wolf. He is not quite Sonny’s friend, but he is also a guard who grew up in a court, the Spring court. Sonny doesn’t like seeing him around Kelley, but knows he is best to look out after her while he is working for Auberon. I loved Fenn, He cracked me up and he was hot. As the story progresses though, I have the feeling Fennrys is up to something. I don’t want to give out my suspicions, but something was off when Fenn returns later in the book after a strange hiatus. I can’t wait for more of his story.

I liked the plots in the book. The one plot we really finish is the fight with the greenmen though. The others definitely have more to them, but we weren’t given much of those yet. There is a terrible secret about Sonny and what he really is. We also find out that the Greenmen aren’t the only ones they should be afraid of. Kelley’s friend and roommate Tyffanwy (aka Tyff) knows something that she took drastic steps to not tell Kelley and I have a feeling it has something to do with Tyff’s supposedly good friend, Titania, may have her own agenda. Problem is, we don’t find out what it is. There is also the issue with Kelley’s dad being sick and the fact that he may have been poisoned since the Fae don’t really get sick. But again, not much was revealed here.

This was a great book. As I said before, I mainly started this series because of the covers. Shallow, I know, but come on, they are gorgeous. Redheads always get great covers. Am I the only that noticed that or is it just me? As much as I enjoyed the book, the ending made me want to scream. It wasn’t bad or anything just made me insanely sad. The next book, Tempestuous, is the last in the series. So I am hoping all the doubts brought up in this book will be brought to light. There is obviously plenty of betrayal, but again, we will have to see where it will lead. But this book was full of magic and amazing characters, both good and bad. This book was just about raising suspicions and so I believe Tempestuous will pack a big punch considering all that was left unsaid (and said) in Darklight. ( )

These are number two and three of Wondrous Strange, a Young Adult novel I listened to on audio book in the summer. They follow Kelly Winslow, a 17-year old girl who is living in New York and pursuing her dream to become an actor. Each novel is centered around a Shakespearean play (A midsummer's night dream for the first, then Romeo and Juliet for Darklight and The Tempest for , yes, you guessed it, Tempestuous). It begins in the first when Kelly rescues what she thinks is a horse from drowning in Central Park. She meets the Janus Guard Sonny and learns some surprising new info about herself.
I can't really say much more without giving anything away, but the trilogy is a fun romp into the world of urban fantasy. It is a fine series from a newcomer on the scene of YA lit. I do remember being a little disappointed with the ending though- it happened to fast and furious. Still. Good to give to those who are fans of Melissa Marr's wicked lovely series or Holly Black's Valiant. ( )