Second Sight by Sherry Ficklin

I don't give book reviews very often, but this one definitely deserves a mention.

Sherry Ficklin is the author of The Gods of Fate series, a young adult fantasy trilogy, following Grace Archer.  I read the first book in the series, Foresight, last August, and loved it.  So I was excited to read Second Sight as soon as it came out last week.  I'll try to avoid giving too many spoilers...

Grace Archer is the daughter of Pandora and Prometheus, friend to the fey, and demi-goddess in her own right.  In Foresight, Grace learns of her heritage and discovers her powers as a demi-goddess, as she fights to protect her mother's urn.  Along the way she falls in love with Chris, one of her guardians and a fey warrior.  Unfortunately, he's killed during the big battle scene (sorry...trying to avoid spoilers here...but I can't avoid them all...) but she brings him back to life and they live happily ever after...

...For awhile in Faerie.  This is where book two, Second Sight, begins.

By saving Chris and bringing him back to life, Grace stole his soul from Hades.  He was safe in Faerie, but as soon as they leave, Hades returns to collect the missing soul and take Chris to the Underworld.  Grace is devastated.  What choice does she have but to bribe Charon, barter with Hades, and bring Chris home?   Of course, it's all a lot more complicated than that, and Grace is forced to make decisions that change everyone's lives, while narrowly avoiding destroying her own.  Friends and relatives -- people she should be able to trust -- want to use and control her (and her growing powers), and she must navigate the traps and schemes to become the woman she wants to be. 

Overall, I loved Second Sight as much as I loved Foresight.  Sherry Ficklin does a fantastic job bringing together modern, contemporary fantasy with Greek/Roman mythology.  Though the book is being marketed as YA, the complexity of the story, and the maturity of the lead character kept me entertained and turning the pages.  In fact, I felt it was a much more mature novel than some other YA stories I've read.

I highly recommend picking up this series.  But you have to read Foresight first.  Second Sight is equally as good, but it's not truly a stand-alone novel.  Start with Foresight, read them both, and you won't be disappointed. 

(P.S. The final installment of The Gods of Fate trilogy, Hindsight, is slated to be released early next year.  I can't wait to read the completion of the saga!)

Final Rating: 4 out of 5