The Second Sign

by Elizabeth Arroyo

[littleread1]

I must be on an angel kick without realizing it, as this is the second angel/demon book I've read in less than a week! Even though the other one was Adult and this was YA, this one is definitely the darker of the two.

Take your typical YA angst, add in several huge secrets, some difficult powers, lots of death, and angels and demons and you get the gist of The Second Sign. Things change from moment to moment, and I was continually confused as to who the good guys and the bad guys were, and how everyone fit into the picture. To be honest, I am still a little confused. Which is both good and bad.

I like to be surprised confused, as long as I feel like I know what just happened at the end. It keeps me guessing and one my toes. And while there is some resolution (not a cliffhanger) at the end, I am still left wondering about a LOT of things. There were some secrets kept from the main characters, Gabby and Jake, that I don't understand. Of course I usually disagree with the secrets being kept from ANY character, there is usually some reasoning, no matter how stupid in my opinion, as to why those secrets are being kept. I didn't feel there was enough of an explanation as to why some of the secrets were kept. But they did make for a giant WTF moment at the end!

There were also a few character actions that confused me. I can make assumptions based on what happened later on as to why they acted the way they did, but they do a few 180's during the story that are never really addressed by them or the people around them.

Other than that, this is a very good, very dark book. I mean, people die. In horrible, gruesome, ways. And the author doesn't pull punches. She makes you see it, through the eyes of her characters. There is some good, but man ... the evil makes a serious appearance here.

Let me just say there better be a book two. And sooner rather than later would be nice. That ending, again not a cliffhanger, left me all flustered. I need more closure, and I need to know what happens next! Because, yeah. I can't tell you without ruining the whole story.