Rainbow Book Reviews
I was very excited to return to this intriguing world the author has created in her ‘Soulmates’ series. It is a world where very few people (approximately 1 percent) have a power, a Craft, and within that tiny percentage even fewer have any active talent. In the previous installment I read about Guy who has a strong wood Craft and Theo who is exceptionally gifted in empathy. At the end of that first introduction to the series and the world (I do recommend you read these in order, by the way), Theo has taken over as Council Head after uncovering some misdeeds within its ranks. In his new position he sends Nick, Council security and high aptitude Seer, to investigate a murder/suicide which leads Nick to Jeff, the human son whose parents are now dead. “His parents had been researchers. They had minimal Craft power, and counted themselves lucky to have found each other, and been able to bond. Jeff had been born without any Craft power, and it had driven his father crazy. “They always said it wasn’t fair that I was born human,” he told Nick. Nick looked up from the nightstand drawer. “It bothered them?” “Yeah.” He ran a hand down his face. “They spent their lives researching genes, and the biomarkers that signified Craft versus human traits.” Nick is a Seer but no one has ever believed him because that Craft power doesn’t “exist”, at least not in the archives, so Nick has spent his life hiding his ability and the amount of power he truly has. Even his parents didn’t believe him about his visions and he couldn’t stop their deaths. Jeff was born without any Craft power and even though his parents tried to scientifically find a way to jumpstart recessive Craft genes (causing him to have a number of really rotten teenage years) so far nothing they tried *cough* injected him with *cough* ever worked. Or, did it? But I don’t think Jeff’s parents had any idea what could happen once Jeff bonds with his soulmate… I’ll admit that the mystery/suspense portion of this story definitely didn’t hold my interest as much as Jeff discovering power and the relationship between him and Nick. I wasn’t surprised that the radical group who were working under Theo’s father in the first book didn’t disappear once his dad was gone but, instead, found a new psycho to follow. Nick and Jeff spend considerable time trying to evade the people who want Jeff’s parent’s formula even though they don’t know that it doesn’t work unless you have the bonding energy to help with the latent genes. Of course, these kind of people only believe what they want to, so trying to get them to understand that is a lesson in futility. I so enjoyed the worldbuilding again, but I really wish I’d gotten more of Nick and Jeff’s romance, their relationship, and how their powers worked especially after they bonded. Jeff’s, in particular, is quite unique and I would have loved seeing more of his abilities. All in all, however, I liked this second book in the series and I’m looking forward to more.
