"44: Book 2" by Jools Sinclair

Release Date: Now available
Publisher: Self-Published
Pages: 194

From Goodreads: "When she was 17, Abby Craig died. But after falling through the ice on a frozen mountain lake and having no vital signs for 44 minutes, she somehow came back to life.

It’s taken two years to recover from her accident. And while most of what she lost at the bottom of that dark lake has returned, some things haven’t. Although she is no longer haunted by visions of a serial killer, Abby still sees what others can’t. But she is blind to the darkness closing in all around her.."

The first book in this series, simply entitled "44", was one of my most favourite self-published YA books of 2011- I had not a single complaint about it, I thought that it was one of the most unique YA books I had read at the time, that the characters were wonderfully developed, and the pace of the book was impeccable. While I would have been satisfied had it just been a standalone book, as I felt that all of the loose ends were tied and it had one of the best cases of closure I have ever read in a book, I was excited to learn that it was in fact part of a series (and therefore, as you can imagine, when I was offered the chance to read and review this book, the second book in the series, I jumped at the opportunity to do so). However, after having read this book I must admit that I am a tad disappointed with it.

One of my largest complaints about this book is the dialogue, overall I found it to be too formal and as such, at time quite unrealistic (I personally don't know of any teenagers who sound like the ones in this book do) and robotic (I didn't find that there was any emotion behind the dialogue, everything was quite flat).

Another problem I had with the book was the lack of Jesse (he made a very brief appearance twice? in the book), without Jesse I just don't understand the purpose of this book (Okay, I concede, I understand that this book was about how Abby came to terms with the accident, deciphering between reality and fiction, and getting on with her life, but I refuse to accept it as I thought that Jesse was such a loveable, not to mention swoon-worthy, character who brought a certain je ne sais quoi to the novel ;) ). Furthermore, I found that when Abby did make mention of Jesse/ thought about him she was far too whiny/ melodramatic.

That being said, I did enjoy the book overall. I felt that, like the first book, this book had wonderful pacing and I loved the setting of this book. I also enjoyed seeing Abby grow, resuming being the person she had lost along the way. I also didn't mind the cliffhanger ending, it *almost* made up for the lack of emotion in the dialogue as my heart was racing/ had me on the edge of my seat the entire time while reading it. 

All in all, despite my criticisms I do highly recommend this series- I think that they will appeal to readers of all ages! In fact, you can get the first book in the series, "44", for FREE over on Amazon (click HERE)- therefore you have no excuse not to read it!

Rating: 7/10

I received this book from the author to read and review. I was not compensated in any way for said review.