The Source by J.D. Horn

The second book in the series did not disappoint at all.  We join Mercy as her pregnancy progresses and she hunts for her sister, Maisie, in the strange netherworld that The Line has banished her too.  With her power restricted by the families she can do so little with what she has left but she is determined to make it count, even if that means ignoring her tuition with the former golem, Emmet, and spending more time with Mother Jilo.

The characters are just as richly drawn in this second outing and the setting is completely submersive. I normally have a tendency to race through books but I found myself once again savouring this book and rationing myself to a few chapters a day to draw out the pleasure of joining this richly tapestried world.

There are genuine moments of peril and you do feel connected to the Taylors and the Tierneys throughout the book.  The characters feel so real and often make quite serious mistakes in judgement due to following their heart into a situation rather than their head.  This makes you believe this could be a real world and one you would love to inhabit - dangerous demons and all.  The relationship between Oliver and Adam is beautifully drawn, their yearning for each other is wonderful and it is just casually dropped in that Adam is a man of colour, making inter-racial homosexuality seem no big deal in a Southern State without smacking of the author having a political agenda.

Definitely a series that needs to be read in order as there is no real introduction to the characters and you just dive right in where book one finished.  There is a little explanation of the back story but it does presume you have read The Line (and is all the better for that in my opinion).