Silver Eve (Guardians of Tarnec #2)Author: Sandra Waugh
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Publisher: Random House
Release Date: 2015
Pages: 381
Source: This book was given to me by Rockstars Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: The Healer Evie saves two herbs for herself—yew, a quick and painful poison, and heliotrope, for the deep, deep sleep that never ends.
After the death of her beloved, seventeen-year-old Evie Carew wants nothing more than to lose herself forever in the wilds of Rood Marsh. But when the old seer Harker tells her she’s meant for a greater task, Evie’s curiosity keeps her going. What is this shell that Harker insists she must find? And why can’t she stop thinking about the handsome Rider Laurent, the young man who saved her on the worst day of her life?
Soon Evie discovers that she is the Guardian of Death, the second of four Guardians who must awaken to their powers to recover four stolen amulets. Together, the amulets—Life, Death, Dark, and Light—keep the world in balance. To take back the shell that is Death’s amulet, Evie has to learn to challenge her Healer instincts and understand that love never dies.
My Review: In the sequel to Lark Rising, Silver Eve follows Evie Carew, a healer who is Lark’s cousin. The story picks up after Evie has left Merith. After the death of her fiance, Raif, she plans to follow him to the afterlife in the Rood Marshes. However, she is saved by Harker, who gives her a quest to find the amulet of Death. She is soon joined by Laurent, who was sent to find her and assigned to protect and guard her. Little does Evie know that she is the Guardian of Death and that she is hunted by people who want to destroy her and the amulet.
This story is very different to Lark Rising. While Lark Rising was light, happy, and takes place mostly in the day, this story is much darker, sad, and takes place mostly during the night. Lark Rising felt like a fairy tale, but Silver Eve felt like an eerie siren’s song. This is not because Lark is the Guardian of Light and Evie is the Guardian of Death, but because Evie may still be in mourning over the death of her fiance. She is at the lowest point in her life, and she is still trying to find happiness and love.
Evie is a difficult character. She is very uncontrollable. She makes reckless decisions. While she is easily manipulated by Harker, a mysterious seer, I still thought that she was in control of her own actions. Her curiosity leads to many consequences, and she wants to do the right thing. She was selfless because she was always looking out for others welfare, and not herself. Even though she made reckless decisions, she believed that she was acting out for the greater good.
I really loved Laurent. Unlike Evie, who is very impulsive, Laurent was very practical. He was also very selfless. Laurent risked his life many times to save Evie. Laurent was also very stubborn and stood by her side even if he disagreed with her decisions or when she kept telling him repeatedly to leave her. I thought Laurent was a strong protagonist and a good fit for Evie. Evie needed someone she could rely on and trust throughout her quest, and Laurent’s loyalty encouraged her to succeed.
Overall, the story is about sacrifice, love, friendship, and redemption. With complex characters and a dark setting, the story was much more interesting than Lark Rising. I thought the world-building was much more vivid in Silver Eve, and the book was fast-paced. However, while I did like the story, I did find the ending a bit unsatisfactory. The epilogue ended in a cliffhanger, and I felt that it should have given the reader an ending that tied everything up and show us its direction for the next book in the series as it did in Lark Rising. Still, because of Silver Eve, there is hope that the Guardians of Tarnec may be a promising series after all.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
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