Darkthaw

Darkthaw is the second book of Kate A. Boorman's Winterkill series.

Council has fallen. The Thaw is here. The world outside Emmeline’s fortification awaits. Urged on by her dreams, Emmeline sets out with her new friend Matisa and her beloved Kane, venturing into exhilarating wilderness, into freedom, into the unknown.

Into danger.

The secret that has secured peace for Matisa’s people for generations has been compromised. Newcomers are arriving, laying claim to the land and bringing unimagined horrors. Emmeline vows to help Matisa warn her people, but with new perils at every turn and the enemy closing in, she finds herself faced with an impossible choice: Forsake the friend who saved her life or abandon the boy she loves.

The Breakdown:
1. In this book, Boorman sets Emmeline on  her great adventure, outside of her settlement, to see the world.  She really makes this book a little of parallel of history with the imposing threat of the expansion of the Dominion westward. It is interesting the people that Emmeline's group meet on their journey, both good and bad.

2. I enjoy seeing Emmeline grow in her dreams and views of the world.  She is so excited to leave the settlement, but along the way that not everything is what she expects. She learns to how to be her without the expectations of the settlement.

3.  One of my favorite things is the evolving relationship between Emmeline and Isi, Matisa's cousin. He starts as subtle hostility to her, that later becomes outright hostility. As the story progresses they are forced to work together, and he comes to begrudgingly respect her and eventually they become friends.

4. Forewarning, there are some heartbreaking scenes in this book, so have your tissue ready.  There is also, a little more violent action compared to the first book, but it really helps to set up the scene and the changes going on around them.

To Read or Not to Read:
Read