Review of 'Uprising (Children of the Gods Book 2)' by Jessica Therrien

Title: Uprising (Children of the Gods #2)
Publisher: ZOVA Books
Release Date: May 28, 2013
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 384

Synopsis:

Jessica Therrien follows up her bestselling novel OPPRESSION with UPRISING, the second book in the Children of the Gods series.

OPPRESSION, translated and sold around the world, was one of the best selling YA novels of 2012. UPRISING continues the story of Elyse, William and the Descendants. Elyse has been in hiding for most of her life. Only now she’s hiding with William, and she knows who she’s hiding from. The Council wants a child Elyse and William have yet to conceive, a child who will be the next oracle, and who will provide the final piece to a plan Christoph has been organizing for years. Charged with leading the rebellion against Christoph and his Council, Elyse feels well out of her depth. But she has good friends and strong allies who are willing to fight with her to the end, regardless of how far they have to go, and how many lives will be lost in the process. They have one goal: to live freely and openly with the rest of humanity, out from under The Council’s oppressive rule. The stakes could not be higher for Elyse and the Descendants longing for freedom. They'll have to learn to fight if they want to stand up against The Council, and to find allies in a world ruled by their enemies. The hardest part of waging a war is knowing who to trust. Elyse knows their uprising will change the world. She doesn’t realize it will change her, too.

Read an excerpt:

We left everything but the weapons. Clothes, food, toothpaste. There wasn’t time for things that weren’t essential to escape. The five of us went on foot in a direction that was meaningless to me. I had never seen what was outside of the edges of the safe haven, not since I’d been here.

When Mac stopped abruptly after our fifteen-minute trek into the woods, we all froze at once, bodies poised and ready to attack, eyes searching for threats.

“We’re here,” Mac announced. “What should we expect Marcus?”

I had never heard Dr. Nickel called by his first name, and it made me realize he wasn’t as untouchable as I had imagined. Just because he was here, didn’t mean we were safe.

“I don’t know,” he answered. “Maybe an army, maybe nothing. Depends on where they are.”

“Everyone best get down on the ground just in case,” Mac decided with a nod. “Weapons ready.”

As I lay belly down in the dirt, I noticed Dr. Nickel pull a gun from his belt, and my stomach gave a heave.

“When I remove the haven walls, there will be a van. Everyone get in back. If anything goes wrong…” Mac paused, uncomfortable at the thought. “It’s been nice knowin’ ya.”

**My thoughts**

I liked this book even better than the first one, which I liked a lot. The first one helped us to get to know Elyse, William, and the other Descendents. I felt like in this one, we got to know them even more, as well as the battle in which they are about to commence. This installment in the series has plenty of action, plus a roller coaster of emotions in Elyse as she prepares her followers to fight, and as she has to make sacrifices. I also went through a range of emotions about Elyse. I applauded her for being brave and strong, but then was annoyed when she felt defeated, though I probably would have felt the same in her shoes. I cheered her on in the face of her enemies, compelled to keep on reading during the suspense. This book kept me completely engrossed for an entire evening, actually keeping me up late that night, so that I could finish it without waiting for the end. And now I am anxiously awaiting Book 3!

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Bio:

Jessica Therrien is the author of the young adult paranormal fiction series Children of the Gods. Book one in the series, Oppression, was published by ZOVA Books in February of 2012 and became a Barnes & Noble bestseller shortly after its release. The second book in the series, Uprising, will be available in May of 2013.

Aside from her Children of the Gods series, Jessica’s work can also be found in a published collection of flash fiction stories called Campaigner Challenges 2011. Out of over 350 submissions her story, The Soulless, won first place for people’s choice and fourth place in the judging round of Rachael Harrie’s Writing Campaign Challenge. Her story, Saved, is also available as part of the anthology.

Jessica currently lives in Chula Vista with her husband and is working on book three in her Children of the Gods series.