Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Review - Lemniscate by Jennifer Murgia

Lemniscate by Jennifer Murgia
Publisher: Lands Atlantic Publishing
Publication Date: March 21, 2011

I went into reading Lemniscate with a little trepidation. After loving Angel Star, both the Teagan/Garreth dynamic and how relatable Teagan was , I was worried that the sequel wouldn't hold up. There were parts of Lemniscate I loved even more than Angel Star- the developing friendship between Teagan and Ryan, Hadrian and how he became an integral part of Teagan's fight against the darkness, and the fact that Teagan's understanding of who she really was and her role she was meant to fulfill increased. That last part fit into, what I felt was one of the overarching themes - change. So many things changed in Lemniscate; families came together, some friendships grew, while others disintegrated, and personalities changed (and not always for the better).

Teagan has a better idea of who she is after what happened in Angel Star and now that Garreth is earthbound there isn't anything that they can't handle: until Garreth becomes more human and distances himself from Teagan. Add to that the fact that Teagan's mother is dating the father of the girl who made her life a living hell and said girl has been acting weirder than normal. To top it all off, Hadrian is back and Teagan isn't quite sure how he fits into her life.

I wanted to love Lemniscate outright and while there were parts I did absolutely love, it didn't quite live up to Angel Star. The biggest reason for this was Garreth and his story arc. I know that he couldn't remain static because that would make for a boring story, but it felt like his becoming more human happened very suddenly. It didn't ring true, almost as though there was more at play than hormones or wanting to hang out with the guys every once in awhile. Despite everything I knew about Garreth from Angel Star, I did not care for him in Lemniscate at all. Hadrian, on the other hand, really came into his own and it felt that he was stepping into parts of Garreth's role. The interaction between Hadrian and Teagan and how it allowed Hadrian to come into his own was a highlight.

The theme of change combined again with the battle between good and evil or light and dark, and the acceptance that everyone has some of both kept the action going. The main characters, at different points had to decide which side they would fight for, which kept the dynamic changing. Plus there were so many twists that it was difficult to predict what would happen next. Despite everything that happened, Teagan was still a very relatable character. She kept the whole plot grounded and it was wonderful to watch her come into even more of her strength. 


Lemniscate is a must read for Angel Star fans and for those who like their angel stories with lots of action.

2 comments:

  1. I really like your critiques and views on books. You're really hone in on what doesn't work for you while still seeing the good aspects of a book. Maybe I'll pick up Angel Star one of these days.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Pam! I try to find at least one good thing about every book, maybe it's a left over characteristic from my teaching days :)

    ReplyDelete

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