Monday, August 1, 2011

The Golden Spiral by Lisa Mangum

The Golden Spiral (Hourglass Door #2)
May 10th, 2010
Pages: 365 (now in paperback)
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Source: Publicist
Summary (Spoilers for 1st book):
The bank is eroding. The barriers are thinning. And time is running out. 

The hourglass door has closed behind Dante, sending him back in time to hunt down Zo, Tony, and V. Although giving him up was the hardest test she ever faced, Abby knows that Dante is the only one who can stop the others from destroying time itself. But almost immediately, things start to change, and Abby's worst fears are realized when Zo begins targeting her past specifically.  

With each change that ripples into her present, Abby's life continues to spiral out of control. Her relationships with Jason, Natalie, and even her family are threatened to the breaking point. Zo's power is greater than Abby ever imagined. Will her love for Dante be enough to turn the tide? 
The Golden Spiral is nothing short of spectacular. The story is creative and exciting - Lisa Mangum is an author to keep an eye on.

Abby’s life is becoming more of a mess by the day as Zo flits through time with only chaos on his mind. The more he changes Abby's life, the more the barriers of time begin to wane. Despite everything horrible that’s happening, Abby toughens up and actively attempts to fix everything – including her seemingly impossible task to save Dante. But it is characters like Valerie and Zo who truly steal the spotlight. Zo is more threatening than ever with his controlled yet chaotic behavior, while Valerie's manic personality constantly surprises with every story she tells. Valerie especially grew to be a favorite character of mine, despite how frustrating I found her in book one.

Mangum intertwines events from the past novel together with those taking place in The Golden Spiral quite expertly. Time travel and the drawbacks of messing of time are more present in this story in comparison to the previous one. The characters are more developed, the risks are higher, and the ending will have you eager to snag a copy of newest and final novel, The Forgotten Locket.

Highlights: The characters, especially supporting ones like Zo, V, and Valerie, truly stunned me with how much more depth they all gained as characters. The build up to the conclusion was especially well done, and managed to surprise me despite a few hints here and there. Mangum's writing is as beautifully descriptive (and sometimes even poetic) as it was in the first novel.

Lowlights: Just once, I got a bit iffy regarding the dialog between Abby and Dante (the spot I'm referencing seemed a dash over the top). Things also seemed to work out too well regarding a couple aspects of the plot.

Note: You need to read The Hourglass Door (#1) to understand this novel, and I'd definitely recommend it.

Rating: 4 out of 5




5 comments:

  1. I've heard really good things about this series, I love a good time travel story:) It also sounds like the characters are really well done which is hugely important to me. Awesome review Lea:)

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  2. Oooo, that cover is... spiraling, lol! I've heard some pretty good things about this series, though I've never had a chance to pick them up myself. Great review, Lea! :)

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  3. Hey there thanks for dropping by on my page. I think imana watch out for the first book first and then this one. thanks for the post,

    LALAINE'S FICBOOKREVIEWS

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  4. Sounds like the second novel is just as good as the first. The characters sound amazing! Great review :)

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  5. I read it a while ago but remember enjoying The Hourglass Door so I'll have to check this one out.

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