Umberland

Umberland by Wendy Spinale is the second book of her Everland series.

They’re dreadfully fond of beheading people here…

Gwen, Pete, and the others have escaped from Everland. Except the safe haven they hoped to find at Alnwick Castle doesn’t exist. With the Queen of England on her deathbed, Duchess Alyssa has stepped in, but things have gotten worse as the cure Doc created for the Horologia virus has mutated into something even more deadly. The only possible solution he can think of is to go back to the virus’s origin: an extinct poisonous apple.

Legend has it, though, that a tree bearing the apple might be found at the center of an impossible labyrinth hidden deep within Germany. A place no one in their right mind enters. With no other options, Alyssa sets out with only her sword, her wits, and the help of Maddox Hadder, a wild boy who oversees the castle gardens. To get to the center of the maze, she’ll be forced to battle monsters more terrifying than her darkest nightmares.

But can anyone truly survive the madness of the maze? And what if there’s no apple to be found there?

The Breakdown:
1. I feel that Spinale suffers a little from a sophomore slump in this book.   The book dragged a little.  It was told from three prospectives, Alyssa, Pete, and Jack.  I felt that Pete's chapters weighed the story down a lot.  Alyssa and Jack's chapters were far more interesting. 

2.  I did love Alyssa and Maddox together.  They both are so layered as characters.  I enjoyed seeing Alyssa learn that there is more to Maddox that what she initial thought.   I really enjoyed Maddox's back story and who he is and how he came to Alnwick. 

3.  I find Jack a interestingly complicated character.  Most of the time I cannot decided if he is trying to curry favor with his stepmother or trying to find a way to redeem himself to the lost boys.  I am interested to see what happens with him in the story as the books progress.

4.  Given the ending of this book, I really feel that this book was mostly laying the work for the next book. 

To Read or Not to Read:
Read, because I feel like the next book all that happened in this book will really come together.