Saturday, February 8, 2014

Review - Never Let You Go by Michele G. Miller

Series: The Prophecy of Tyalbrook #2
Author: Michele G. Miller
Release Date: January 29, 2014
Pages: 246
Goodreads Rating: 4.69 stars
My Rating: 4/5 stars
My Content Rating: PG (Nothing more than kissing)

Summary from Goodreads: Two souls desperate to discover the truth about the past and determined to save their future…

SKYE
The usual warmth I felt deep in my soul when Xander was near me was beginning to dull. Yet I still remembered the warning: “Be careful, my Princess…you will lose all you love before you can win what you want.”

XANDER
I could feel it; she hadn’t been here. Two days of hell, riding as fast as we could and only taking small breaks, and yet she had outrun us. How?

A PRINCESS set on regaining her Kingdom and protecting those she loves…
A GUARDIAN who will stop at nothing to find the woman who stole his heart…
An EVIL FORCE who will destroy everything they know in order to have power over all…

The journey continues in Never Let You Go, book two in The Prophecy of Tyalbrook Series.


***This review may contain spoilers for the first book in this series.  To read my review of Never Let You Fall click HERE.***

Never Let You Go kicks the fantasy of this series into high gear!  Where I felt like the first book was a bit lacking in its magical elements, that is not at all the case here - book #2 is fantasy through and through, which I loved!

This book picks up right where book #1 left off - Skye has just abandoned Xander to go off to the palace on her own, hoping to find the mysterious necklace that the Elf King Griffin told her about and save "her" (though Skye doesn't actually know who it is she's trying to save). But when she gets to the castle, she finds that the truth isn't as cut-and-dry as she thought and her enemies may not all be enemies after all.

The negatives:
  • The love triangle.  Maybe it's because it's been a long time since I read book #1, but I just didn't feel all that much of a connection to Xander in this book.  Skye spends the entire book with Nickoli, who pretty much captured my heart right from the beginning. I kind of found myself thinking "Xander who?" no matter how often someone in the book mentioned that Xander and Skye were destined for each other. At the same time, it seemed obvious (at least to me) that Nickoli and Skye weren't going to end up together, so my adoration of Nickoli just felt a little fruitless. There were definitely some twists and turns with the romance - and I can't say who she actually ends up with at the end of the book (or if she even chooses), but the journey itself wasn't as interesting as it could have been because I wasn't connected to Xander.
What I loved:
  • True fantasy.  Unlike the first book in the series, this book felt like a true fantasy novel and I was truly drawn into Tyalbrook and it the lives of its people.  There was a much greater sense of magic and mystical danger in this book, which I loved!  I thought that Miller did a great job of worldbuilding in this book!
  • The mysteries.  Throughout the book, Skye is trying to learn the true story of what happened to her parents and who's side she should really be on.  She's gotten one side of the story from The Guardians, but when she gets to the castle, she discovers that there is another version of the story being told.  And she comes to realize that some of the people who she has always considered to be her enemies really just believe in that other version of events - and since she's really just going off of what she's been told, she doesn't always know what to believe herself. Then there's the king's obviously evil sidekick - but the question is, what is he up to and is the king in on it all?  Meanwhile, Xander is learning some new truths of his own - and those truths may change everything.  While I did kind of guess some of the twists in the book, I was still intrigued and excited to unravel the story as it went along.
  • Nickoli.  Did I mention that I'm in love with Nickoli?  His sometimes overactive ego just made his softer, protective side seem that much sweeter.  And I ached for him every time that Skye crushed his heart - why, oh, why Skye?  I have a guess about what might happen with Nickoli in the future and I can't wait to read the next book so that I can see if I'm right.  Since we got to see parts of this book from Nickoli's perspective, I'm hoping that we'll get even more of him in the next book (and that his heart doesn't get stomped on too badly)!
I definitely feel like this series is heading in a great direction and I can't wait to see what Miller has in store for us in book #3.  I give Never Let You Go  4/5 stars.


***Disclosure: This book was provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given. All opinions are my own***


About the Author:

Michele is the author of the Coming of Age Fantasy Series The Prophecy of Tyalbrook - Never Let You Fall, book one (May 2013) and Never Let You Go, book two (Jan 2014) as well as the New Adult Romantic Suspense, Last Call (Oct 2013). She is currently working on the third book in The Prophecy of Tyalbrook Series, a Last Call novel and a YA Realistic Fiction that has her super excited!

Having grown up in both the cold, quiet town of Topsham, Maine and the steamy, southern
hospitality of Mobile, Alabama, Michele is something of a enigma.  She is an avid Yankees fan, loves New England, being outdoors and misses snow.  However she thinks southern boys are hotter, Alabama football is the only REAL football out there and sweet tea is the best thing this side of heaven and her children’s laughter! 

Her family, an amazing husband and three awesome kids, have planted their roots in the middle of Michele’s two childhood homes in Charlotte, North Carolina. 

Contact her:
  photo iconwebsite-32x32_zps1f477f69.png  photo icongoodreads32_zps60f83491.png  photo icontwitter-32x32_zpsae13e2b2.png  photo iconfacebook-32x32_zps64a79d4a.png