Review: Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan

Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan
(The Lynburn Legacy #2)
Reviewed by Noelle: September 25, 2013
Published September 24, 2013 by Random House Books for Young Readers
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Warning: Spoilers from Unspoken (The Lynburn Legacy #1) are mentioned below, specifically the developments leading into Book #2.  Read my Unspoken review here.

I've lost that loving feeling.  Oh, that loving feeling.  I've lost that loving feeling and it died under the weight of a thousand quips. (Whoa-oh-oh-oh.)

You all know I love quips-- I do! But there reaches a saturation point where it all becomes too much.  Must (nearly) everyone talk like that all of the time?  I can't imagine having a conversation with these characters without having to Cher slap them to snap out of it.

Because the stakes are higher than ever for the citizens of Sorry-in-the-Vale.  A crazed blood-thirsty sorcerer is demanding human sacrifices.  Families are falling apart.  Kami and Jared's magical link is broken just when their combined powers are needed the most.  And last but not least there are several post-makeout D-T-Rs to establish.  There are so many important conversations that need to happen between characters but everyone is too busy lock and loading zingers to say what they really think or feel.

It's like talking to Lorelai Gilmore about stopping the apocalypse after she's had 20 cups of coffee.  Funny? Yes. Frustrating? TOTALLY.

Sarah Rees Brennan's writing is charming as always and I still have a lot of affection for these characters and this world.  However, while there are eventually some conversational breakthroughs, in the end, Untold is a rather apt title for this installment: there's so much talking in this book without the characters actually saying anything to each other. The plot suffers from middle book syndrome where not much happens until the end, further accentuating the incessant quip-show.  By the time the talking stopped and the action kicked in I had already emotionally checked out.

There are several intriguing plot developments setting up the final book, so I'm sure many will be back to see how Kami and the gang fare in the finale. Hopefully Untold hasn't talked me out of it. We shall see. Rating 2.5/5.