Darklight

Darklight
By: Lesley Livingston
www.lesleylivingston.com

In this sequel to Wondrous Strange, Kelley Winslow finds her NYC acting career blossoming as she takes the lead in Romeo and Juliet. But she also finds herself desperately missing Sonny Flannery—who was forced back to the Faerie Otherworld, charged with a dangerous mission by Kelley’s father, King Auberon.

When Kelley finds herself thrown into the Otherworld following a deadly chase in Central Park, her passionate reunion with Sonny is cut short. Ancient magick is stirring, and a dangerous enemy has Sonny and Kelley caught in a web of Faerie deception that could tear their love apart. (from Kellylivingston.com)

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I really enjoyed this book. It picked up a few months after Wonderous Strange left off, and Livingston was able to effortlessly jump back into the story filling in the minor gaps quickly before moving forward. In this book Kelly is cast in the role of Juliet to Gentleman Jack's Romeo. Without Sonny gone back into the Otherworld to chase down the remenants of the Wild Hunt, Kelly is left in New York to face all the reminders of the past years events, including frightning dreams where she's see's Sonny huntung the riders and is visited by her mother Mahb (via magic mirror)

Like in Wonderous Strange, not everything is what it seems and soon Kelly is confronted by new creatures and enemies- including the Leprachauns, a viscious race of men decended from the Greenman. Two particularly terrible leprachauns are after Kelly and her necklace (cheekily refered to as her lucky charm). The struggle finds Kelly facing dangers in New York, in the Faerie Otherworld and lastly in her beloved theatre, the Avalon. The story ends with Kelly finding out exactly who and what Sonny is, and that he may belong in the faerie more then anyone realizes.

One thing I relly love about this series is the incorporation of the theatre (the Avalon) and Shakespeare's plays. In Wonderous Strange it was Midsummer Night's Dream, in Darklight it is Romeo & Juliet. Livingston weaves the play into the plotline without making it seem like a joke, and for those of us who love the theatre, it's great to see the way you can tie the classic story in with something more modern.

Darklight is the second book in the series, and although the third book has no release date set yet (or a title for that matter), I'm already anticipating where Sonny and Kelly may find themselves next. I also can't wait to see what play Kelly might star in next- maybe Hamlet, The Tempest, the possibilities are endless!