Author: Amy Lane
Publisher: DSP Publications
Length: 300 Pages
Category: Fantasy, Paranormal
At a Glance: With the intensity (and the stakes) jacked to eleven, Rampant Vol. 2 is a white-knuckled thrill ride of a resolution, leaving the reader with a tantalizing peek into what’s in store in the next book in the series.
Reviewed By: Cassie
Blurb: Lady Cory has carved out a life for herself not just as a wife to three husbands but also as one of the rulers of the supernatural communities of Northern California—and a college student in search of that elusive degree. When a supernatural threat comes crashing into the hard-forged peace of Green’s Hill, she and Green determine that they’re the ones in charge of stopping the abomination that created it. To protect the people they love, Cory, Bracken, and Nicky travel to Redding to confront a tight-knit family of vampires guarding a terrible secret. It also leads them to a conflict of loyalties, as Nicky’s parents threaten to tear Nicky away from the family he’s come to love more than his own life.
Cory has to work hard to hold on to her temper and her life as she tries to prove that she and Green are not only leaders who will bind people to their hearts, but also protectors who will keep danger from running rampant.
Review: This book spectacularly (and slightly gruesomely) ties off all the loose ends that were left dangling in Rampant Vol. 1. Comeuppance is doled out, alliances are strengthened, relationships evolve, and the road to the fifth book of the Little Goddess Series is laid with a huge “OH SNAP” moment. Rampant Vol. 2 is a great ride, even when you’re white-knuckling it.
The storyline at Redding gets wrapped up in this volume, and I’m thankful. It was nice to see Nicky step up and defend his relationship with Cory and his choices in his new family and alliances to his parents, but I was ready to call this fiercely emotional storyline done just as much as the characters were. My favorite part about this series is the interconnectedness of the tribe of Green’s Hill, and the best place to experience that is actually on Green’s Hill. It’s nice to see the group face and overcome outside challenges not on their home turf, but I (like the characters) was really ready for everybody to go home and reunite the little splintered off Redding unit with the main group. It was grueling (in a satisfying way!) watching everybody struggle, both with their emotions and with their enemies. And man, did they fight hard; they earned their trip home.
Amy Lane really upped the intensity in this one, which is saying a lot because this series has not been lacking in that department. And it amps up fast and quick since most of the lead up happens in Volume 1. Of all the books in the series, I think the split is most blatant, and most uneven, in Rampant. Volume 1 was pretty much all lead in, and Volume 2 is all climax. And while Volume 2 was wonderful and thrilling, an exciting and an entertaining read, I needed a break as much as Cory did by the time the group finished its task.
Bonus points to Amy Lane for helping us out by including a Character Lexicon to remind us all who came in where and how everybody’s related. There are a lot of characters involved in this series, and while they’re all awesome, they’re also occasionally, bewilderingly numerous. This section definitely helped me out a couple times as I was reading through the book. Both she and DSPP do everything they can to help us readers enjoy the series by addressing the werewolf gap (can’t WAIT for those books!) and giving us a helpful refresh on all the pieces on the board. There are also blurbs for the other books in the series in the back, which, pro tip, can be a helpful bit of Cliff’s Notes for anybody (like me) who’s read waaaaaaay too many books (is that a thing?) between Volume 1 and Volume 2, and needs a bit of a memory jog before diving in.
So, if you’re as wrapped up in the re-release of this series as I am, this volume will not disappoint. Prepare yourself for a deliciously thrilling trip. The first time I read through the ARC I was so swept up that my only note was “OMG AMYLANE WHY DO YOU HURT ME WITH YOUR WORDS AND YOUR ANGST”. So look forward to that in particular…or you know, brace yourself. I know you’ll want to re-read this one. I certainly had to!
You can buy Rampant, Vol. Two here:
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