Oleah Chronicles: Justice ARC Review

Book: Oleah Chronicles: Justice
Author: Michelle Johnson
Series: Oleah Chronicles #2
Genre: YA paranormal
Source: ARC ebook (thank you so much, Michelle!)
Pages: 182
Release: May 15th, 2016

After discovering the truth about her Oleah origins, Angel thought she could still have a normal life, consisting of normal things – like her seventeenth birthday party. But there is no such thing as normal for Angel anymore. She learned that the hard way after Sindrell – the most powerful sorceress in the universe - crashed her party, destroyed the city, and took her best friend, Julie, captive. Determined to defeat Sindrell for good, Angel must risk her life, along with the fate of the entire universe to get Julie back…alive. The only way she can do this successfully, is to embrace her Oleah instincts and learn what it takes to become a true warrior. Problem is, Sindrell has an insurance policy of her own that will put millions of lives in danger - including Zander’s - to ensure her quest for power is brought to fruition. One way or another. In order to protect Zander, and save Julie, Angel has to make a choice... but will it be the right one?

Goodreads / Amazon / Amazon CA

An absolutely excellent sequel!

This novel picks up right after the ending of the last book. Angel has discovered and come to terms with her Oleah origins and powers, accepting her true identity and role in the universe. However, Sindrell has taken Angel's best friend Julie captive, and is now demanding Angel give herself up in exchange for Julie's life. Angel must now make a decision to either protect those she loves, or protect the rest of the world from Sindrell...

Angel's personality was what really drew me to her, much like the previous book. She's noticeable a different person than the first, with new strengths and responsibilities, but her heart and sense of right and wrong remained the same. Angel went through a wide variety of emotions in this novel, everything from shock to anger to joy to doubt, which made her very realistic and enjoyable to read about. Her loyalty to her friends, family, and home made her such a strong character. I loved how though Julie was her main focus in this novel, Angel never ignored or sacrificed her other relationships. She still managed to find time to be with Zander, letting their relationship grow stronger, and to include her parents in her life. She cared about the well being of everyone, never letting her concern over one person damage or completely overshadow her relationships with others. And with her new strengths, powers and allies, Angel is on the rise to becoming someone you do not want to mess with!

Zander, or should I say Alexander Laurence Black (that is an amazing name), had to be my favourite character. Funny, sweet, protective, and amazing, he offset Angel's agitation perfectly, knowing when to comfort her and when to give her space or let her do things on her own. I absolutely adored their relationship, especially since Zander continued to do or say the best things. He completely believed in Angel, and helped her any way he could, from helping her devise a plan to save Julie or helping convince her parents that Angel was strong enough to handle situations on her own. And all their stolen moments, like playful surprise attacks to a dance to a kiss--loved it. Loved it! The fact that the romance isn't the driving force of the plot enhanced the story and their romance so much, really making you savour every stolen kiss or banter between the two. I can see exactly why Angel fell for him, and honestly, I totally wouldn't mind a Zander of my own!

We get a new perspective apart from Angel in this novel: Julie. It was quite interesting to see what was going on in Julie's mind, to see how she was handling everything. Needless to say, Julie's reaction and integration into the new world of Oleahs and other paranormal creatures was significantly different than Angel's. But she kept her sarcastic tone the entire way through, which really brought a sense of humour and irony in juxtaposition to Angel's perspective and the general plot line. I did question some of Julie's choices, and would have like to see a bit more depth to her thought process just to get a better sense of what was going through her head and whether she's had a complete change of heart. I'm really hoping we'll get to see more of Julie's perspective in the next book to figure her out, though!

We don't get as much of Angel's parents in this book like in the last one, but Eli and Satine were no less important. The brief scenes of them spoke numbers of their importance to both Angel and to the world. Though it was initially a challenge for them to both trust Zander and to let Angel handle things by herself, once they did, they were completely supportive. I really enjoyed their presence, and hope that they'll have more page time in the next book!

The ending is definitely a bigger cliffhanger than the last book. I can't believe it ended like that! I'm devastated by the new developments, the new revelations, everything. Never in a million years did I guess for Julie to do that. I can only imagine what kind plan Angel will devise, now that it's hinted that she'll be taking a trip to the Underworld in the next book. With the author's creative and imaginative mind, the possibilities are endless of what will happen... It's going to be a painful wait for the next book, that's for sure!

Overall, this is a great follow-up to the first book. I did notion some run on sentences in dialogue, but it didn't really take away from the overall plot or characters. Like with the first book, I also really wished it was longer. Barely 200 pages...sigh. I'm hoping the next one will be longer! And more Zander, please!

This gets a solid 4.5 stars :)