Seconds Before Sunrise

by Shannon A. Thompson

[Berls]

4.5 stars.

My Initial Reaction…
I am so happy that I stumbled upon this trilogy(or rather, that Shannon stumbled across my blog) because I love it! There were a few things about Seconds Before Sunrise that made me not love it quite as much as Minutes Before Sunset but I still look forward to picking up the next book.

Note: There will be some series spoilers here. Sorry, I couldn’t get around it, I tried.

The Characters…
I loved Jessica way more in Minutes Before Sunset, but I think I’m supposed to feel that way. When we pick up Seconds Before Sunrise the plan to wipe the parts of Jessica’s memory that connected her to Eric/Shoman and all her shade powers has kicked off. And it’s not going quite as smoothly as all would have hoped. Jessica’s having dreams that are really memories. But on top of that, our memories are a huge part of who we are. As are Jessica’s shade powers. Without those pieces Jessica isn’t Jessica anymore.

Cue teenage angst. :( I love young adult, but I’m not a huge fan of teenage angst. And normally when a book has a lot of it, I don’t give it more than 3 stars. This book is the exception because I saw how it was necessary. Jessica isn’t your typical teenager. She’s not whiny, she doesn’t go drinking and skipping school. But she’s lost a huge piece of herself and it’s changed her. And that’s why I’m willing to forgive the teenage angst in this book. It’s making a point. But I can’t say I loved that aspect of it.

Eric/Shoman is really struggling with his part of the bargain too. He not only has this huge weight on his shoulders (aka the survival of his race) but now the girl he loves just had her mind wiped, doesn’t remember their moments together, is potentially dating other guys, and oh, yeah- he still has to see her everyday at school. So things are rough for Eric. But he’s actually doing better with the pressure than I had expected him too and he clearly loves Jessica, leading to some “awww” moments from me. He’s also starting to appreciate his family in ways he hadn’t before and that was heartwarming. I loved his interactions with his little step-brother Noah.

I have to give a quick shout out to two characters that I liked in book 1 and loved even more here – Camille/Teresa and Pierce/Jonathon. They are like Eric/Shoman’s side-kicks, but in Seconds Before Sunrise they both really came into their own; they had greater responsibilities and took more initiative. Seriously loved them.

The Story…
Seconds Before Sunrise picks up where we left up with the fast approaching d-day. Otherwise known as Eric’s b-day. (See what I did there? LOL, I know, I crack myself up…) Anyway- Eric’s 18th birthday is the day prophesied for the battle between himself and the second descendant – from the light. (Remember, this is a world where the dark are actually the good guys) The story centers around the difficulties of keeping his and Jessica’s identities secret, keeping Jessica safe and getting ready for the battle.

I love everything about the Shade and Light and I wished that the Jessica/Eric drama hadn’t overshadowed that quite as much. There was more magic and action in the first book and I really craved more of that in this one. We do learn a lot more about the light – which was cool, but I wanted more. The last 15% of the book really made up for most of what I missed in the rest of the book, which is why I’m still giving this such a high rating. But it would have been perfect if I could have had way more of the world that Shannon did such a great job developing in Minutes Before Sunset and the crazy action that she delivers at the end.

Concluding Sentiments…
Ultimately, this is a seriously strong trilogy (so far) for young adult lovers – particularly those who aren’t bothered by teenage angst (or can overlook it when it makes sense). I will be keeping my eyes wide open for the next and final book in the Timely Death Trilogy!

I received this book for free from Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.