Shadowlark
by Meagan SpoonerBook 2 of Skylark
~ Goodreads ~
Rating: 2.0 Stars
@50% into book
I fell asleep twice reading this book already. Whether it’s because I’ve been overly tired from lack of sleep or because the book is kind of boring, I’m not sure. Up to this point, there’s a fairly flimsy plot line wherein I have an idea where the book is headed, but I’m not entirely sure I know what is actually going on in this book. Even since the first book I’m not sure I know what the main conflict really is--
1. Lark is looking for her brother, Basil.
2. Lark is trying to find a place where she can live normally.
3. Lark doesn’t want to settle where the society will use her for their own needs.
4. Lark creates her own romantic angst by not knowing what she wants when it comes to Oren.
I honestly have no idea what’s really going on here and I’m having an even harder time relating with any of the characters. I’m not even sure Lark knows what she’s doing, honestly, but I suppose it helps that no matter where she goes, everyone likes her.
@ Book's Completion
I still have issues trying to figure out what all happened in this book. It still feels overly haphazard and confusing. And boring.
But at least it was fast-paced and still had some points where I could get into it and forget that I'm not exactly enjoying it. At least the characters are different and at least Lark is a strong character even if she makes a lot of misguided decisions (misguided by her own dramatic, wandering monologues).
And it's not like Shadowlark was a terrible book, or anything. It's got serviceable writing and a narrator who isn't entirely boring. And the situations DO present with a slight "Wait and see what happens next" vibe. And so I keep reading to figure out what happens next.
And also, Nix is kind of a new take on the R2-D2 of a YA world, with attitude and all. But, of course, Nix is no android Iko from The Lunar Chronicles (Yes. I'm still riding some residual Book Hangover from finishing Winter).
To Paraphrase:
Basically, Shadowlark picks up where we left off from Skylark wherein Lark is continuing her journey to finding her brother, Basil, if he’s still alive. After the events at Iron Wood, Lark is more determined to find Basil and figure out where she belongs in this world.
And she is joined by her human-like pixie, Nix, as well as Tansey, one of the scouts from Iron Wood. Of course, along the way, more conflicts happen, Oren rejoins Lark, but there’s the obligatory romantic angst for reasons… and so on.
And also, more evil stuff surfaces and more saving the world ensues.
My Thoughts:
My thoughts are pretty much what I’ve already stated above: this book was fairly boring. But on top of that, we’ve got some awkward emotional flip-flops all over the place. Scenes that were meant to be gut-wrenching or heart-breaking felt overdone to me. Scenes that required a more emotional reaction ended up narrating rather flat.
Once again, much like Skylark, I really DO feel like this series, this world, had a lot of potential. It’s creative and different. The history of Skylark’s world, however, is still rather vague. But at least back story is what these books have going for it.
The characters seem intriguing on paper, and even the situations and relationships have potential for development, for a more exciting storyline. But in the story itself, the characters are hard to relate with and kind of dull and kind of typical YA standard, even if their situations are a little more unique, especially the romance between Lark and Oren--a darkness to their realities that intrigued me to an extent.
Another fortunate aspect to this book is that it’s pacing is fast. I flew through it before I even knew what was going on. In fact, as I already stated above, I still had no idea what was actually happening in the book, but I breezed right through the entire thing pretty quickly. I mean, I get the events and I see the happenings… but I’m still not entirely certain I know what the point of the book had been. Nor did I understand where the book’s direction was headed.
At least not until the end.
And now, despite knowing what’s in store for the concluding book in this series, I’m not quite sure I’m all that excited about it. The only thing keeping me connected to this series is the curiosity--wanting to know how it all ends.
***
This book is a pre-chosen participant in the following Reading Challenge(s):
This review was originally posted at Ani's Book Abyss / BookLikes in November 2015.
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