Book Review: Vengeance



Vengeance by Megan Miranda
Fracture #2
February 4, 2014
Walker Children's publishing
352 pages
Genre: Young Adult Thriller
(contains: some mature language and some non-explicit sexual references)
Source: eARC from publisher for Honest review

Book Blurb:

Nobody really believes in a curse. Until you know the people who disappear. Too much coincidence, you look for reason. Too much death, you grasp for something to blame. Carson pulled Delaney out and he died on the side of the road with her mouth pressed to his. Her air in his body. Troy. She told the cops it was suicide. Didn't matter. The lake released her and grabbed another. But when Decker's father dies in a pool of spilled water on their kitchen floor, all Decker can feel is a slow burning rage. Because he knows that Delaney knew that his dad was going to die. She knew and backed out of his house and never said a word. Falcon Lake still has a hold on them both, and Decker can't forgive Delaney until he knows why.

My Review:

What a great sequel! And I definitely consider Vengeance a sequel and not a companion novel. If you haven't read Fracture yet, I highly recommend it. Vengeance picks up some months after Fracture left off, but this time around we get Decker's POV.

I am so impressed with Vengeance. I liked it even more than Fracture. If I hadn't had family obligations, I could have easily read this in a day, and it still only took me two. I was completely caught up in this book, with Decker's struggles, with all the questions and mystery. Even when I was annoyed by Decker, I was still completely enthralled by the story.

Characters: This is Decker's book and we get completely encompassed in his thoughts and actions. Decker is angry and confused and it shows. Despite Decker annoying me at times, I loved how he was written. It was so honest and reminded me of all the conflicting thoughts I had as a teenager (without Decker's particular drama). Delaney is a strong presence and I loved that, now that we aren't in her head, we don't automatically get to know why she's doing/done things. But her conflict and struggle is clear and I loved getting a new perspective on her. Through Decker's eyes we see even more of her strengths, which I really enjoyed. We also get more perspective and personality from D&D's group of friends. We get to know them a lot more here than we did in Fracture, due to Delaney's isolation, so it was really interesting to get Decker's view on everyone, whether that view was accurate or not, and see how everyone played off each other. The secondary characters really added a whole new level to the story.  

Storyline: We are continuing with the repercussions from Fracture, but the plot is multi-faceted. Decker and Delaney's relationship has hit very hard times. What I loved was getting to see how they are with each other now versus how they were in the past (with some well-played flashbacks). Watching Decker try to resolve all his mixed feelings and emotions when it came to Delaney was heart-breaking and sweet at the same time. Beyond D&D, we get the continuing mystery of the lake, the water, the "curse." There is an intensity and urgency to find out what is really going on. And beyond that, we get a whole lotta mess when it comes to D&D's friends. Everyone is struggling. And the hardest struggles are over Decker's dad's death and Carson's death. This is an intense story that gripped me throughout.

Mystery: The ever-present mystery surrounding the lake since Delaney's accident plays a huge role, particularly since Troy's death. But here that mystery has been taken up a notch or five with some new unexplained incidents. The mystery was well-played here. Even as I was starting to figure things out, or thinking I was figuring things out, I was still constantly second-guessing myself. I was never completely confident in my opinions until it was completely obvious. I felt on the edge of my seat throughout. For me that is just great storytelling and great writing. Megan Miranda really nailed it for me.

Bottom-line: I loved Vengeance and thought this sequel was even better than the first. Decker's POV was completely engaging and felt very authentic. The intermingling of personal loss, deep relationship issues, personal growth, and a well-played mystery, made this an exciting and engaging read. And the ending, the last lines, were just perfect. This is a fabulous read and I definitely recommend this series.

 

5 STARS

 

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Book 1: FRACTURE

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