Title: Dark Nebula
Series: The Chronicles of Kerrigan, #2
Author: W.J. May
Publisher: Mitchell Morris Publishing
Release Date: December 15, 2012
Pages: 263
Rae of Hope Review
Book Description:
Nothing is as it seems anymore.
Leery from the horrifying incident at the end of her first year at Guilder Boarding School, Rae Kerrigan is determined to learn more about her new tattoo. looks Her expectations are high, an easy senior year and a happy reunion with Devon— the boy she’s not supposed to date. All hopes of happiness fade into shattered dreams the moment she steps back on campus.
Lies and secrets are everywhere, and a betrayal cuts Rae deeply. Among her conflicts and enemies, it appears as if her father is reaching out from beyond the grave to ruin her life. With no one to trust, Rae doesn’t know where or who to turn to for help.
Has her destiny been written? Or will she becomes the one thing she hates the most-- her father’s prodigy.
Review
Action-packed fantasy with a hint of suspense. W.J. May has outdone herself with this sequel!
Oh my gosh! This book -- WOW! Let's just say I can't wait for the next book!!! That's saying a lot given that this book hasn't even released yet!
Where do I even start? Rae came back from her summer vacation to start her senior year at Guilder. She had her secret relationship and she was more or less comfortable with her tatu. The day she arrived back at Guilder, she had a vision. When she went to talk to Carter, he told her and Devon that her father was reaching out from the grave. Yikes! He created some kind of a brainwashing mechanism. Well that's just a nice welcome back news, isn't it?
Devon and Julian started working for the Privy Council over the summer. It was some kind of underground, secret government. Rae didn't trust it and she didn't like the revelations that she learned along the way about Devon's job.
Molly found a boyfriend and revealed private information to Rae that she would have rather not heard about. That part of the story where Molly revealed something to Rae didn't sit right with me. I thought it didn't fit well with the story.
In this book, there was a new character: Kraigan. Sounds a lot like Kerrigan to me. He was an orphan who didn't know anything about tatus until he turned 16 and suddenly had "superpowers". Carter found him and brought him to Guilder. He didn't want Rae to touch him and mimic his tatu, but he did want Rae to mentor him. From the beginning, I thought there was something suspicious about Kraigan. Let's just say he was what made this book interesting.
I loved the action and the suspense in this book. I truly enjoy books with those elements in it as well as humor, and this book had all three.
This book was mostly focused on three characters. I felt like I missed out a little bit on the other characters, but that's a minor setback. The major trouble I had with this book was the inner thoughts that Rae had. It took away the mystery of the book and it made it sound repetitive at times. Basically, she would think of something and then vocalize something related to that thought. I could have done without it. It wasn't that hard to figure out her thoughts from her dialogue. Anyway, if you can get past that, the book is very enjoyable. I would still recommend it.
Check out these scenes!
Dressed in a white polo shirt and army pants, Rae did not think she had ever seen him look so handsome. Looking as if he had just stepped out of Top Gun, his hair had a slightly messy appearance, as if he had been running his fingers through it on the drive back from wherever he had been. He even wore the same sunglasses and had dog tags around his neck. He looked...scrumptious. Hello Maverick!
She started to turn, about to answer Julian, when the door opened. Devon stood with only a towel wrapped loosely around his hips, toothbrush in his mouth."Sorry. I was in the shower, music on and shaving." He whistled as his gaze traveled slowly up and down the length of her body. "You are amazing.""Molly did it.""Only Molls could convince you to wear an open back dress. You're pretty sexy, hot-looking.""You don't look so bad yourself.""I try to clean up nicely once in a while. However, I think I'd better get dressed. In case you try to jump me. You have a ravenous look in your eyes."
Where do characters come from?
The muses in my head create them and they grow as a story develops. Sometimes they mature, sometimes they hit a downward spiral, and sometimes... they have to die.
Wanita May grew up in the fruit belt of Ontario - St.Catharines. Crazy-happy childhood, she always has had a vivid imagination and loads of energy.
The youngest of six -- four older brothers, and a sister -- taught her at a young age to be competitive in all aspects of life.
At sixteen, she began competing in athletics (track and field) and before she turned seventeen, she was representing Canada in high jump. She continued to compete, breaking Canada's JR High Jump record (1.92m - 6' 3 1/2" for those metric-ly challenged). She attented University of Toronto, and Kansas State University - winning CIAU's and becoming All-American 6x - NCAA Indoors Runner Up + more.
But you're not interested in her athletic career - unless of course you're curious to know she stands 1.70m (5'7") and has jumped 20cm over her head on more than one occassion. She's represented Canada at the World Championships, World Jrs., won Francophone Games, and loved every minute of every competition. From the grueling workouts, the crazy weights she lifted on her back, the days she thought her lungs were going to spit out of her mouth for lack of oxygen, the travelling around the world and the opportunity to read - her favourite past time.
Life continued with her husband (a distance runner from Liverpool, UK, who she met at KSU) and then their first, then second and finally third child. Their house became full of more imagination and stories.
Wanita and her husband run an online business, dealing in antiques and collectables - particularly jewelry and porcelain (one of the business' website: www.wadeincanada.com ).
After her father passed away in 2009, from a six-year battle with cancer (which she still believes he won the fight against), she began to write again. A passion she'd loved for years, but realized life was too short to keep putting it off.
Her first book, Rae of Hope - from the Chronicles of Kerrigan - will be available October 2011 by kNight Romance Publishing.
She is currently represented by Dawn Dowdle of Blue Ridge Literary Agency. Wanita is a writer of Young Adult, Fantasy Fiction and where ever else her little muses take her.