Silvern

Silvern by Christina Farley is the second book of her Gilded series.

Jae Hwa Lee has destroyed Haemosu, the dangerous demi-god that held her ancestors captive, and now she's ready to forget about immortals and move on with her life.  Then the god of darkness, Kus, sends an assassin to kill her.  Jae escapes with the knowledge that Kud is seeking the lost White Tiger Orb, and joins the Guardians of Shinshi to seek out the orb before Kud can find it.

But Kud is stronger and more devious than Haemosu ever was.  Jae is soon painfully reminded that by making an enemy of Kud, she has placed her closest friends in danger, and must decide how much she can bear to sacrifice to defeat on the most powerful immortals in all of Korea.

The Breakdown:
1. This book has a darker feel to it than Gilded had.  Jae has become more paranoid, rightly so, after the events in the first book.  Marc is far more protective of her, and as her best friend Michelle says, he is stalkerish at times in his worry about her. Plus there is the strain in the relationship between Jae and her father, who refuses to believe in the Spirit World and thinks that Jae needs therapy.  Of course, there is Kud is a much darker and crueler antagonist that Haemosu.

2.  Despite the the darker tone to this book, I think that it goes well for the progression of the story and the development of both Jae and Marc's characters.  They both learn what true sacrifice is in the this book, and that somethings there is nothing you can do to save the ones you love. Both have to make some pretty tough decisions.

3.  Farley introduces Kang-dae in this book, another Guardian, like Marc.  Not going to lie, I did not like him from the beginning.  At first I thought Farley was trying to force the whole YA love triangle by introducing him, but as the story progressed that did not really fit.  Although multiple times, he just gave me the feeling of being untrustworthy, and it seemed every time something from the Spirit World was warning Jae about danger, he was involved.

4. The darker tone of this book carries through the end.  There are definitely some heartbreaking moments during this story that a tissue is needed for.  I have the admit that I was a little surprised by the ending, and it will be interesting to see where Farley takes the next book.

To Read or Not to Read:
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