Reviews

Mythology: The Wicked by Helen Boswell

tashaseegmiller's review

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5.0

This is the second in Boswell's trilogy and the first to give readers the chance to read Micah from his POV. I adore Micah. He's trying to do the right thing, trying to solidify his identity and reconcile if that identity is automatically locked into his status as a demon. I love the way Boswell captures the male voice - it's a great book.

aralston08's review

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5.0

*I was given an eCopy of this book from the author in exchange for honest review.

I wholeheartedly believe this series is a hidden gem that many YA urban fantasy lovers are missing out on. I love this series so much! The first book was wonderful (read my review here) but this book blew it out of the water!

This installment begins with Hope and Micah both struggling with their current status in the world of angels and demons. Both Micah and Hope are struggling to figure out a way for Micah to survive past his 5 year (or maybe less) deadline. If he doesn’t start feeding his deimos by stealing souls he won’t survive. Hope, in turn, must learn to deal with her new “gifts” and balance her normal life without anyone finding out about what happened.

As if life isn’t stressful enough for Hope and Micah, a new dark force comes crashing into their lives. This force threatens to destroy everything Micah and Hope care about. People they love are threatened and no place is safe, not their homes, not their school. With this dark force brings some new characters into the mix. It also sends Micah into a downward spiral, threatening his control over his life, and the choices he has made. Micah is thrown deeper into the demon world, all in hopes of saving the people he cares about.

I have to say that I still love the characters in these books. Sometimes as a series progresses I find some characters to become mundane or annoying. I didn’t have this problem with any of the characters in Mythology. I still love Hope and Micah, and I love that their chemistry is alive within the pages but doesn’t overshadow the plot. Sometimes romance really takes over and diminishes the world-building and story-telling. This doesn’t happen in this book, Micah and Hope have their quiet, romantic moments but when the world is falling apart around them, they put their priorities in order.

I think Boswell does a fantastic job of world-building and telling a unique tale of angels and demons. Despite the forbidden-romance aspect of the whole story, it doesn’t overshadow the big details and it doesn’t become the whole story. The main characters find a balance between their love-life, their friends, and their families. Which brings me to another thing I find refreshing about Mythology. The main characters have families! In a lot of books the topic of family is glossed-over and it leads me to question “where are your parents?!” Although both MC’s parent’s aren’t alive, they have families (caregivers) that take care of them and are an integral part of their lives. I love this! I could go on and on about why I love Micah and Hope but I think I said a lot of that in my review of the first book and all of it still holds true. Micah is such a genuinely nice and caring person which is endears him so much to me. It’s always great when an author chooses to write outside of the norm. Hope is as lively and brave as ever and she really starts to come into her own in this book. Jonathan begins to take on a bit of a new role in this book which is interesting to watch and also a little shocking at times. Speaking of shocking…many events in this book did just that, they shocked me. I definitely felt certain scenes stabbed me right in the heart.

Mythology: The Wicked is an outstanding sequel and doesn’t suffer from the sophomore slump that many series fall victim to. It’s action-packed and I was engrossed from the very beginning. I would recommend this series to those who love YA and those who are particularly looking for a story that is creatively told.

jasminepnwgirl's review

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5.0

First of all let me say that I LOVED this book! There are not many sequels that I love, but this one I do! It was nice to read the different POV's. Even though I was frustrated with some of the character's, and I wanted to yell at them. I still love them no matter what, even if I don't agree with what they are doing. If you love the first book Mythology, then you will love this one!

Be prepared for the roller coaster of emotions. Can't wait for the next book!

lumatere's review

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4.0

It puzzles me how unknown Helen Boswell’s series is. I went into it, expectations low, and was surprised at how much I had thoroughly enjoyed the first installment. The second book, The Wicked, is as addicting as the first.

I finished this book in one day. In retrospect, I kind of regret doing that. I find myself missing all the characters that I have come to love. The non-stop action kept me glued to the pages, and this book really just made me happy.

Finally, after a few hopelessly bad books, I find myself being entertained instead of annoyed.

It’s safe to say that this is definitely one of the better YA urban fantasy books. The author handles the topic of demons effortlessly and uniquely, enough to make me read this book in one sitting. I understand their world inside and out, which is a sign that the author has written a successful fantasy book.

Personally, I hate when the romance takes over the plot. *cough* Sweet Peril *cough* I like romance and all, but when it takes over the plot? Nuh-uh. That’s when ragey Summer makes her appearance. Thankfully, this book does not suffer from this. There were a few cute kissing scenes, but they didn’t spend the entire novel making out while the world around them was crumbling to pieces.

Admittedly, the writing is not that great. But I liked it. I liked how it was concise and got straight to the point; honestly, while reading this I really was not in the mood to read flowery writing.

The Wicked without a doubt has its own little flaws (or probably it’s just me being nit-picky), but it does not fail to entertain me. No, this book isn't life-changing. No, it’s not a literary masterpiece. It does, however, make me feel an immense amount of satisfaction. The Mythology series deserves so much more attention; it’s certainly better than the YA UF books that are traditionally published from one of those big publishing houses.

*walks away whistling with contentment*
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