Review: The Lovely and the Lost by Page Morgan

Title: The Lovely and the Lost
Author: Page Morgan
Series: The Dispossessed, book #2
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: May 13, 2014
Source: ARC from publisher
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Ingrid and Gabby survived the Underneath. They saved their brother, Grayson, from a future of dark servitude and exposed a plot to undermine the Alliance. But danger still lurks in the streets of Paris, and the Dispossessed, perched on the city's bridges and rooftops, might not be able to save their human wards this time.

Wow, what a mess! Not the book itself, just the way it ended. I'm still reeling from the adrenaline rush. I'm always a little wary of sequels because of the dreaded second book syndrome, where the author spends more time on world-building than plot and character interactions, but The Lovely and the Lost suffers from none of that. In fact, I'd wager that I enjoyed this second book even more than The Beautiful and the Cursed!

The Lovely and the Lost picks up a month or two after the events of the first book. I won't allude to any of what happened in book one in order to keep this review spoiler-free, but if you read it, you know it was chock-full of danger, deceit and was a bit of an emotional roller coaster on all accounts. But if you thought the first book was full of action and suspense, it's got nothing on this sequel. New characters, new villains, and twists that even I didn't see coming, and with as much reading as I do, it's usually pretty easy for me to predict where the story is going. But I guess when you throw angels, gargoyles, and demons -- not to mention special demon powers -- into the mix, things are going to get pretty unpredictable.

I'm not always a fan of multiple third person perspectives in a story, but it really works in this series. There's just so much going on in the story that it warrants having multiple narrators so that the reader isn't completely lost. Plus, it saves on time since we already know what's happening and it doesn't need to be repeated from character to character so that everyone's clued in. Most point-of-view transitions are obvious and happen at the beginning of each chapter, though there are times when the switch happens in the middle of a chapter. Even so, Morgan does so seamlessly, maintaining the fast pace of this suspenseful story.

I appreciated the introduction of the new characters and the inclusion of characters that were only known on the periphery previously. But even more, I loved how much more developed the characterizations of Ingrid, Luc, Vander, Gabby, Nolan, Grayson, and yes, even Chelle, were in this sequel. (Though, I think the brooding Luc will always be my favorite.) The events of the first book undeniably changed each one of these characters, but what happened in this last 100 pages of this book will leave them irrevocably changed. It's to the point now that I don't know that some of them can come back from what they've been witness to over the last few months.

The author is a master at weaving all the threads of these characters together, and it's going to be hard to separate them going forward, with what's happened and what the future holds. Also, adding in the parental presence this time around? Genius! It makes things so much more difficult for everyone involved, but it also makes for endless entertainment as everyone tries to evade them.

The romances -- and there are several to consider in this series -- are really nicely drawn, as well. They were less of a focal point in the first book, but they've really picked up speed in this continuation of the story.  Yes, the "triangle" that semi-existed in the first book is still present, but I think it's more than obvious where it's headed by the end of this book, especially considering -- but also despite -- certain circumstances. I think the impossibility of both are what make each so captivating. Regardless, all of the romances in this story take a hit by the end, and no one's future is very stable anymore.

This entire story is just endlessly entertaining, full of plenty of nail-biting moments. I love the gargoyle protectors and their angel overlords. I love the entire Waverly clan and all their problems. And I'm still very intrigued with what the Alliance has to do with all of it. This sequel was quite impressive considering all of the characters and plot threads the author has to keep track of. And I'm sure that the next book will be the best yet!

GIF it to me straight:

GARGOYLES FTW!!!

About the author:

Page Morgan has been intrigued by les grotesques ever since she came across an old, black-and-white photograph of a Notre Dame gargoyle keeping watch over the city of Paris. The gargoyle mythologies she went on to research fed her imagination, and she became inspired to piece together her own story and mythology for these complex stone figures. Page lives in New England with her husband and their three children.

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