Customer Reviews

The Demon's Covenant (Demon's Lexicon)

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A couple of days ago a package arrived in my mailbox that made it most difficult to go to work that day. I didn't end up calling in sick (I do have a modicum of will power) but it was touch and go there for a few minutes. A few deep breaths and reminding myself I could snuggle up with it later got me out the door. You see, I've been wanting to get my greedy hands on this particular book in the worst way for lo these many months and then suddenly--there it was all blue and fiery and taunting me with its irresistible Goblin Market charm. The Demon's Lexicon roared onto my Best of 2009 list at the end of last year, fairly blowing me away with its wicked strong characters, dagger-sharp dialogue, and so much heart it set my blood to pumping three times its normal speed. I could immediately tell that Sarah Rees Brennan was something special and I knew it in such a way that I didn't waste a single moment hoping the next one would be as good. I knew it would be. Alan and Nick were going to be there, weren't they? It would be written by the same witty Irishwoman, wouldn't it? Right, then. Bring on the sequel. By the by, I really love both the U.S. and UK covers of THE DEMON'S COVENANT. Given that it's sort of Mae's book, she really deserves to be on the cover. Plus, that pink hair is just excellent. At the same time, I love seeing the demon's circle on the U.S. cover and as Sin and the Goblin Market play a larger role in this one it's quite fitting, too.

It's been just about a month since Mae and her brother Jamie returned home to Exeter, shook the last lingering remnants of magic from their palms, and went back to life as it was before the brothers Ryves made their entrance and changed the rules of the world. Going to parties with her friends and flirting with the possibility of a relationship with a boy named Seb, Mae's working pretty hard to avoid thinking about the knife hidden ominously in her dresser drawer and the dangerous memories it represents. But when she stumbles across some magicians threatening her and hers once more, Mae does the only thing she can think of. She calls Alan. And, in true Alan fashion, he drops everything and comes to their aid, bringing his brother Nick with him. And now it's no longer a question of whether or not Mae can block out the past, but whether or not she can handle the present. When Alan and Nick are in town, things have a tendency to get muddled, and Mae finds herself alternately attracted to and frightened by Alan's unassumingly kind presence, Nick's overwhelmingly brooding one, and the murderously complex relationship developing between the three of them. And then there's the matter of Jamie and his propensity for attracting trouble of the most appalling kind and in the most alarming quantities. You would think that with Alan's brains, Nick's sword, and Mae's nerve they would be able to keep one scrawny, slightly emotional lad safe without tearing the whole of England apart. But when the Obsidian Circle is involved, all bets are off. And if Mae doesn't put the pieces of the puzzle together in time, she might not have a future to worry over.

I didn't think I could fall further in love with the Ryves brothers than I was at the close of The Demon's Lexicon. That ending still gives me chills. But it turns out I could not have been more wrong. You know those relationships that hit you where you live? That knock the breath from your lungs and bring tears to your eyes and a fierce smile to your face all in one fell swoop? And your emotions are pulled in six different directions at once so that you're only sure of one thing and that is that you will follow wherever they go? That's what Alan and Nick's relationship does to me. I am at their mercy. And, while all of my hopes and wishes for them both may not be possible in the end, they are strong and real and that speaks to the powerfully rich and entertaining dynamic Sarah Rees Brennan has created. My love for Mae and Jamie is right up there as well, and I was thoroughly delighted to find Mae at the core of this second installment in the trilogy. She is a pleasing and sympathetic combination of audacity and uncertainty and I felt for her and was extremely proud of her as she fought to save all the crazy, beautiful boys in her life. Not one to stay at home and gather wool, Mae (like Mae West) prefers to confront the problem head on and fret over the sticky consequences later. This serves her well in almost all aspects of her life. Her heart being the notable exception. What to do? Who to trust? Which weapon to take? Where did Jamie just go haring off to? I was right there with her the whole time. A favorite passage:

***

Mae grabbed Nick's arm and he whirled on her, then caught himself and stood looking down at her with his pulse thudding against her palm and the knife still in his hand.

She lifted her chin. "Oh, put that away."

Nick put it away. "Just making a point."

"Yes, I took your point," Jamie muttered. "Right up against my throat."

Mae looked away from Nick and walked quickly toward the wall, scrambling over it and trying so hard to make the climb look easy that she skinned her elbow as she did so. She pretended it didn't sting.

Nick did not try to help Alan over the wall this time around. He stood with his hands clenched into fists in his pockets as they all waited for Alan to get over on his own.

"I wasn't trying to hurt you," he told Jamie suddenly.

Mae reached out and touched Nick's shoulder. Her hand brushed muscle, braced and tense under her palm, for a moment. Then he shied away from her and glared.

She smiled as if this reaction was perfectly normal. "Sometimes when you pull knives on people, they get this impression that you're going to hurt them, and then they're completely terrified. Crazy, I know!"

"Okay," said Nick. He turned to Jamie and popped his left wrist sheath again. "Look."

Jamie backed up. "Which part of 'completely terrified' did you translate as 'show us your knives, Nick'? Don't show me your knives, Nick. I have no interest in your knives."

Nick rolled his eyes. "This is a quillon dagger. That's a knife with a sword handle. I like it because it has a good grip for stabbing."

"Why do you say these things?" Jamie inquired piteously. "Is it to make me sad?"

"I didn't have you cornered," Nick went on. "You could've run. And this dagger doesn't have an even weight distribution; it's absolute rubbish for throwing. If I had any intention of hurting you, I'd have used a knife I could throw."

Jamie blinked. "I will remember those words always. I may try to forget them, but I sense that I won't be able to."

***

Man, I love Jamie. And I love the flashbacks we get in this tale. The past is a living and breathing entity here and it is with marked trepidation that our protagonists endeavor to parse out its meaning in the present day. And for those of you interested, Ms. Brennan makes good on her promise that this is the Make Out book. There is no disappointment in that regard. Though you may find yourself even more torn when it comes down to it. But that's the beauty of the story. It continually withstands pigeonholing and rises above expectations. THE DEMON'S COVENANT is an unbelievably satisfying and exciting second novel. It surprised me at every turn and it raised the stakes impossibly high. I gasped more times than I can count and my heart went out to each character repeatedly. And if it went out to Alan and Nick a little bit more, well that's my affair. I love them and I love this book. Not the least because it is above all about families, the bonds we form, and the sometimes feeble, sometimes illuminating ways in which we love--beyond reason, beyond blood, beyond even the bands of this world. Finest kind.

I'm just going to go ahead and say it: Sarah Rees Brennan is frickin' brilliant. An evil genius to be sure who has managed to infuse her books with such wit and candor that I find myself wholly ruined for anything else. I don't know how the woman does it but she has managed to blow my mind. Yet again. After naming "The Demon's Lexicon" as my Favorite YA Fantasy of 2009, I began the endless wait for the release of "The Demon's Covenant," not quite sure where Ms. Brennan would take me next, but fully willing to stick around for the ride.

Not much time has passed since Mae and her brother Jamie have returned home after successfully facing down an entire Circle of deadly magicians led by enormously powerful Black Arthur. In her head Mae knows Jamie is now safe, thanks in large part to the help of Alan and Nick Ryves, but Mae can't help but remain tense, constantly looking over her shoulder, waiting for the next attack to appear. When the unthinkable does actually happen and Mae discovers magicians circling Jamie again, she panics and calls the only people who she trusts implicitly to help. Like the cavalry, the Ryves brothers swoop back into Mae and Jamie's life without a thought. Ready to protect, ready to defend. Mae has always had trouble staying in complete control when it comes to Alan and Nick and this time proves to be no different. She's torn and stuck in the middle of their ever-increasingly explosive relationship and above all, ready to do anything to rescue the ones she loves from harms way.

After falling hard for the Ryves brothers in "The Demon's Lexicon," I will admit to some slight hesitation upon discovering that The Demon's Covenant centers around Mae. Who I also liked, just maybe not as much. But boy howdy - I changed my mind. She is something else. Fiercely determined to stick by and protect Jamie, their relationship is something to behold. Truly, Sarah Rees Brennan is a master at crafting sibling relationships because even Nick and Alan take their crazy, volatile brotherhood to a new level. I am over the moon about both those guys. One brother is supposedly the normal, nice, good guy - but who in actuality is a consummate liar; while the other is seen as evil and wicked but who actually cannot lie and is full of loyalty.

Bit of a conundrum, ain't it?

And the twists just keep on coming. Once again, Sarah Rees Brennan manages to catch me completely off guard with her unforeseen ending, leaving me shaking my head over the sheer brilliance of it all. I can't even begin to imagine where she plans to go next, but I know I'm in for whatever it is.

The Demon's Lexicon was told from the Nick's point of view; Nick and his older brother Alan had spent their lives on the run from the magicians who had killed their father. When Mae and her younger brother Jamie come to Alan for help with the demon's mark on Jamie, Nick is reluctant to get involved. The only thing he cares about is protecting Alan. The Demon's Covenant switches to Mae's point of view, and takes place several weeks after the end of The Demon's Lexicon. Mae discovers that Jamie is in trouble again, and she calls Alan (and Nick) for help. The magicians want to recruit Jamie as one of their own, and Mae isn't sure that Jamie wants to resist. Meanwhile, there are clearly problems between Alan and Nick after the events in the first book. Mae is desperate to help both of them, and to save her brother. Can she rescue all three, or will she have to choose?

One thing that really makes this trilogy stand out is the relationships between the two sets of siblings. If I were to teach this in a class, I might ask questions like "What is family?" and "What is loyalty?" and "Would you save the world if it meant killing your brother?" This book also leaves me pondering what it means to be human, and what it means to feel love. And though there are moments that I might sacrifice both Alan and Jamie, it is also clear to me why Nick and Mae never would.

Another thing that I love about this trilogy is that even though it can be dark and intense, there is humor laced throughout. The danger in these books is real, and characters suffer and die, and Nick and Alan have had a pretty bleak childhood, but there are also some very funny parts, especially in the dialogue. Jamie and Nick are unintentionally hilarious and their unlikely friendship was one of my favorite parts of the book.

The Demon's Covenant is also rare in that it left me primed and excited for the next book without feeling dissatisfied with this one. While these books aren't exactly stand alone (how could you not be desperate to read them all?), they are complete in and of themselves. Relationships advance, conflicts are resolved, battles are fought. There is a feeling of conclusion at the end, even if the players are merely resting between battles.

I can't rave about this trilogy enough. It's brilliant. I can't wait to read book three. Honestly, I can hardly wait to read books one and two again. Read them. Read them NOW.

I am reviewing a review copy sent by the UK publisher.

Mae and Jamie have returned to their home in Exeter, England. It's been a few months since Alan and Nick helped remove the demon's mark left on Jamie--too long when life with Annabel (Mae's mother) is compared to life with the Ryves brothers. Her tidy household is as spotless as her reputation; her appearance is planned and articulated with tact and social grace the utmost of considerations. She's predictable and polite, a far cry from the random bursts of violence and deeply consequential tempers Mae recently adjusted to.

Annabel probably doesn't have anything more alarming hidden in her pockets than used tissue--and that she's probably already thrown away. In short, she's nothing at all like Alan or Nick. Mae, with her pink hair and rebellious attitude, doesn't have to suffer long under her mother's disapproving gaze. Jamie's been acting suspicious and when Mae discovers who he's been having secret rendezvous with, she's alarmed. Lucky for her, contacting the authorities means the opportunity to dance inside of mythological Tintagel and coming nose-to-nose with a Pied Piper.

The Demon's Covenant is all dark secrets and dangerous, deceitful behavior. I was impressed with Nick in The Demon's Lexicon, but had to admit being wary when I discovered it wasn't him narrating this story. Mae's infinitely more human than Nick ever was, but is not a character I found entirely likable. I'm afraid to say I find her a bit unimpressive, some kind of too sympathetic teenager who has inherited her romantic tendencies from the same place as her brother Jamie. She's blessedly normal--or as normal as the sister of a burgeoning magician and sometimes dancer at the Goblin Market can ever be. That is to say, until she attempts to do the impossible and save a demon.

Mae isn't privy to some of Alan and Nick's discussions, especially as related to matters of magic and rival magician circles. She has no special abilities; magic skipped over her in the family gene pool--it makes sense to make a convoluted plot even more so by having one of the most confused and clueless characters entirely outside of the realm of magic lead us through the story. It forces us to go at Mae's pace--a convincingly slow one that increases the suspense of the book. While some readers fancied themselves living vicariously through Nick for another installment, they'll have to deal with Mae instead. Her great heart goes a long way to showing initiative, though, and bit by bit warm my disinterest.

To pull off the twist ending (there shall always be a twist ending!), Brennan had to remove us from Nick and his immediate role in the events to come. To do otherwise would be to play Brennan's hand too early and risk ruining her carefully constructed narrative. Of course, I still missed being inside of Nick's head. He is one of the most complicated and fascinating characters I've ever read--the only thing predictable about him is his penchant for sarcasm and his love of pointy objects. Ironically, a demon who claims to have no grasp of human emotions relies on a convention of humor that is entirely dependent on an understanding of those emotions (e.g. exuberance, excitement, etc...) to undermine them.

Up close, or from a distance, Nick delivers a mysterious and impenetrable aura incomparable to any character, except maybe Alan. He's all hot temper and summer storms, roiling clouds and dark, depthless eyes. Nick's creepy in a way that's mortally fascinating. Like Mae, I find myself drawn to his inscrutable nature, unable to reconcile his fathomless eyes with his warm, very human body. Brennan has juxtaposed two very different creatures when she fused Nick Ryves together from her imagination. The human-demon combination is dangerous and alluring, but she's excelling where lesser writers would fail. She has me believing Nick wants to act human for Alan even though his reasoning seems so incongruous to his nature: is he fulfilling an obligation, returning a favor? Or is he more human than he realizes?

His disinterest in the world at large is hidden perfectly beneath his teenage façade. He does remind us you "can't spell `demon' without `emo'" (p.82) after all, but there are consequences. Teenage girls can and do fall for Nick, including Mae. This was the weakest part of the book for me--Mae makes her rounds with every teenage boy in this book, except Gerard. As our narrator, she subjects us to all of it. She even holds back her reservations to share a kiss with a female demon who, much to my amusement, turns her down. I was almost as disinterested in her love life as I was Jamie's, a character I find problematically weak, a bit selfish and childishly indulgent of feelings he never seems to learn have larger consequences beyond his own heart.

Romance aside, there is enough action, suspense, and danger to make it a successful sequel. The Goblin Market, as always, is beautiful and intoxicating in all of its offerings, lethal or otherwise. The Demon's Covenant is a character-driven magical thrill ride--without seat belts. Relationships and perception are only two of the key ingredients (aside from magic) in Brennan's witty and clever sophomore debut. Her wicked combinations of personalities always teases out the best and worst in her characters. It's emotionally exhausting for them, but entertaining for us. Thankfully, there is no Middle Book Syndrome here.

Though I was disappointed with Sarah Rees Brennan's debut novel, The Demon's Lexicon (The Demon's Lexicon Trilogy), I was intrigued enough to pick up the sequel from the library, and I'm very glad I did.

In The Demon's Covenant (The Demon's Lexicon Trilogy), siblings Mae and Jamie have tried to return to as normal a life as possible after the harrowing demon and magician attacks of the prior month. When Mae realizes that Jamie is getting mixed up with the new leader of the magicians' circle, she calls the only people she thinks can help: brothers Alan and Nick. Though willing to help, the brothers' presence brings added problems, including the magicians' desire to control Nick and the Goblin Market's rebuke of Alan. Mae also finds herself conflicted about her feelings toward Alan and Nick. With her loyalties stretched between the two and her own brother, Mae must make potentially dangerous decisions to protect those she cares for most.

Compared to the first book, THE DEMON'S COVENANT was a more complex, engaging, and emotional ride. The writing improved overall, and transitions were smoother. Rees Brennan excels in her descriptions of complicated sibling relationships and in her portrayal of how love and concern may be expressed in different ways. Told through Mae's limited third-person point of view, the narration was more accessible than Nick's distant perspective of the first book. Mae's viewpoint also provided the opportunity for more mystery and suspense regarding what would happen with Alan and Nick. The quick and snappy dialogue felt more natural in this installment, and it helped to move the plot and to define characters. Character development advanced for the four main characters, most notably for Nick and Mae in some poignant moments involving his father's journal. The role expansion of secondary characters from the first book and the introduction of new ones also provided for an increasingly detailed mythology. The book then finished with a conclusive, satisfying ending (instead of a cliffhanger) that provided growth for the four main characters with the hint of future challenges.

Even though I enjoyed the book, there were still some weaknesses. Moments of rough transition still existed. Inconsistencies in Nick's character also became confusing and frustrating regarding his ability to understand human interaction and his willingness to be touched. Aspects of the mythology remained unclear at the end, as did parts of the climax and its effects. Finally, some of the secondary characters, like Annabel, Seb, Gerald, and Sin, sometimes felt more convenient than necessary.

As this trilogy concludes, I hope that Rees Brennan continues to expand and clarify her magician and demon mythology and that she maintains her focus on the strength and fragility of the sibling relationships. Though I didn't expect my opinion about this series to change so much, I'm very glad I picked up THE DEMON'S COVENANT and I'll be looking forward to the final installment next year.

Great line, huh? Nick may be a demon who doesn't experience human emotions, but he can deliver one liners that will crack you up throughout The Demon's Covenant. It's just one of the many reasons that this book is more than a worthy sequel to The Demon's Lexicon.

The story picks up not too long after The Demon's Lexicon leaves off; Mae becomes worried about her brother Jamie being targeted by magicians from the Obsidian Circle, so she contacts magician fighting brothers Alan and Nick to come help her pull him away from the evil influence. Along the way, we discover that Nick wants to learn about human emotions and he enlists Mae to help him; Alan, frightened of what his brother is capable of, decides the wiser course might be to betray him; the Goblin Market becomes the scene of many confrontations; and Mae finds herself torn between Alan and Seb, a boy at school. There are no easy choices in The Demon's Covenant.

Rant time: What is up with that cover? Besides the fact that it features a minor character, it's just plain ugly. It makes Sin look like she's in her forties, not to mention those big feet. Whoever okayed that one needs to be pummeled repeatedly.

The rant aside, I was pleasantly surprised that a sequel could maintain the intrigue and depth of the first book. With its devastating wit and action, its relationship issues and the magic, The Demon's Covenant works on so many levels. I loved seeing the relationship between Jamie and Mae, and I loved that Jamie knows who he is and doesn't shy away from it. The world Brennan has created is intricate and compelling, and I'm already on board for book number three. Dark and disturbing at times, there's gore and menacing situations that put everyone in peril but will keep you turning the pages quickly. This one garners a solid 4.75 stars, kept from the full 5 by a couple of chapters that meandered just a bit. Excellent reading!

Plot Summary: Following the events in book one, The Demon's Lexicon, brothers Alan and Nick have gone away for a while. Mae and her brother Jamie are back at school, but Mae learns that her brother has been keeping a big secret; the leader of the local magicians circle is trying to befriend Jamie and convince him to join up. Since magicians feed humans to demons in exchange for power, Mae is understandably upset, and she calls the only two people who could understand and help - Alan and Nick. Things clearly aren't right between the brothers, but they return to help Mae extricate Jamie from the Obsidian Circle's attention. The circle also has plans for removing Nick's powers, and to accomplish their goal they'll need to convince Alan to betray his own brother. Normally this would be a ridiculous request, but Alan is troubled, and he might be willing to let the ends justify the means in this case.

(THE DEMON'S LEXICON TRILOGY: BOOK TWO)

Let's get the bad news out of the way first.

The Demon's Covenant was not as good as the first book, The Demon's Lexicon, which had a central, driving story line and a fabulously unexpected ending. This second installment is inevitably going to suffer by comparison because the action is fragmented across a wider cast of characters this time, and sometimes it works, and sometimes it feels disjointed. I also missed the focus on Alan and Nick, although I must confess that Mae and Jamie emerge as convincing leads this time around.

Alright, so I've established that I wasn't wowed, but that's not to say that I was completely disappointed either. Ms. Brennan makes the most of her large cast by keeping things messy, moving, and real. Her portrayal of teenage life is pretty spot on (aside from Nick who walks, talks and thinks like a 35-year-old Rico Suave robot). Since I had conveniently forgotten the lessons from book one, Alan managed to surprise me again, Nick managed to get under my skin (is he 16 yet, or am I a dirty old woman?), Jamie was a riot, and Mae emerged as one of those ultra-mature young ladies who shared a lip-lock with every boy in the story. Her bright pink hair and suggestive t-shirt slogans save her from being unbelievable.

Thank goodness this is a trilogy though, because this series could go on forever, but it won't, and fans will learn for once and all if demons can learn to love. That question right there is enough to keep me interested in the next and final installment. According to Ms. Brennan's website, the third book in the trilogy will be released sometime in the summer of 2011 (I wasn't able to find a title though).

I don't normally do this, but can I just say how much I hate this cover? The girl dancing in the circle looks nothing like Mae, who is the main heroine of this novel, and instead it looks like Sin, the hot chick who has an important, but far less significant role. That bugs me.


The reading order for this trilogy:

The Demon's Lexicon
The Demon's Covenant
Book Three: TBA

DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW UNLESS YOU HAVE READ THE FIRST BOOK IN THE SERIES. SPOILERS AHEAD FOR DEVIL'S LEXICON.

My apologies to anybody who read this review before I put up the spoiler warning.


Mae and her brother, Jamie, have tried to live normal lives since the events in Demon's Lexicon took place. Hid away in one of her drawers was a knife that she couldn't bear to look at because of the memories it invoked. All they wanted was normalcy without any magic or demons. Unfortunately their troubles weren't over yet. A magician was trying to persuade Jamie to join his group's circle. Mae found herself turning once more to Alan and Nick for help.

This book is about relationships as well as demons and magicians. Mae and her little brother are very close. Even when Mae dates one of Jamie's tormenters, he can't stay mad at her for long. Personally I wouldn't have been so forgiving if my sister dated the bully who had been making my life miserable. Jamie is a very loving boy and I liked him instantly. There is also Alan and Nick's relationship. They were the main characters in the first book and the reader got to see how close they were from their viewpoint. Alan loves Nick even though he knows Nick is incapable of returning his love. Nick is a demon and doesn't understand the concept of love. Even though the book stresses this fact more than once, I do think Nick does love Alan even though he doesn't recognize the emotion. He is too protective of Alan and even tries to learn how to be human for Alan's sake. When he learned he was a demon, he threw aside his human body and regained his powers. As liberating as this was to him, he returned to Alan and has been by his side ever since.


One thing I don't like to read about is love triangles and this has one. Alan is crazy about Mae and Mae is crazy about Nick and Alan and Seb. I was impatient for Mae to choose who she wanted and she did finally come to the realization of who she was in love with. I'm just afraid it is going to ruin the relationship Alan and Nick have. I don't like love triangles but I do like this book. I can't wait for the last book to come out.

I read The Demon's Lexicon as soon as it came out, but I've been saving Covenant until end of term when I could really savor it, and it definitely didn't disappoint! I love how Rees Brennan sets up these really complicated situations and then doesn't take the easy way out - her characters are complicated, and aware of it, and nothing's ever going to be easy for them. Yet when I set the book down and breathed a deep sigh, it was one of satisfaction not frustration. This is definitely the second book of a trilogy - it ends in a breathing-space, not an ending. Still, in the denouement Rees Brennan pulls her wealth of threads together with beautiful skill, and you leave the book with a sense of fulfillment and contentment (as well as quite a bit of anticipation for the third book!)

What can I say in detail without spoiling you? Nick continues to pull at my heart strings in a way quite shameful for a boy in his condition, and I simply adore Jamie with a fierce love that knows no end. Gerald and Alan both try to get what they want, and come to resemble each other in a way. Seb and Sin hover, and I think they'll get explored even more in the third book - I haven't quite warmed to them yet, but I'm willing to be persuaded. And Mae's the narrator, of course, and she's such a lovely character. In my experience, it's rarer to find a flawed kick-ass female character than it is to find her male counterpart, and Rees Brennan writes her with breathtaking skill.

In summary, Demon's Covenant is quite a worthy sequel to Demon's Lexicon, and it does an amazing job with the heavy lifting of the second book of a trilogy. I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you enjoyed Lexicon, get this today - I guarantee you won't be disappointed. (And if you haven't read Lexicon yet, get it RIGHT NOW!)

This is the second book in a trilogy that I feel is spellbinding, and amazing!! The Demon's Covenant starts where the previous book, the Demon's Lexicon left off.

If I am being honest, the book took me by surprise. It started off somewhat slow, though that could have just been all in my head, since Nick and Alan were not in the first three or four pages.

But I really did enjoy this book. It had a lot of twists, turns, and action. There was also some tragedy, and a little bit of romance thrown in.

Once again, Alan Ryves kept us guessing. He is one of those characters that you just really have to keep a close eye on. As a previous Alan fan girl, I enjoyed trying to figure him out. out.

The best part about this book is that we got to see a lot of Nick. We saw him trying to be a little bit more human for his brother, and maybe, even if he won't admit it, for Mae.

I have totally switched alliances, and I can't wait to read the final installment of the trilogy. Way to go, Sarah!