Sacred Scars (A Resurrection of Magic, #2)

May 04, 2012 Emily May rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, ya-na, 2012, fave-ya

This is my first five star rating since Froi of the Exiles - so I hope you get some idea just how awesome this book is. I didn't even plan to review this book with it being the second in a series and not a new release, but then I thought it was such a step up from the first book that I had to say my piece.

Skin Hunger is a book of dark originality, there is cruelty and child abuse and magic. The best thing about the first book in the series is that I can honestly say I have never read anything...more

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Aug 09, 2011 Amery Xu added it

Reading this book reminded me just how annoying this series was. First off, the writing style is simple. Most of the writing favors the use of one type of sentence structure, often favoring it when other structures would have been better. This leads to a rather choppy reading, particularly for Sadima's story. Hahp's story is somewhat better, which keeps causing me to think that the novel was written by two different authors as the writing styles for the two stories are rather different.

Secondly,...more Reading this book reminded me just how annoying this series was. First off, the writing style is simple. Most of the writing favors the use of one type of sentence structure, often favoring it when other structures would have been better. This leads to a rather choppy reading, particularly for Sadima's story. Hahp's story is somewhat better, which keeps causing me to think that the novel was written by two different authors as the writing styles for the two stories are rather different.

Secondly, I really hate how novel alternates between Sadima's and Hahp's story via chapters. This leads to an extremely disconnected experience while reading. The two stories do not intertwine with one another except for a few of the same characters. It's much better to read all of one character's story and then going back to read the other's afterward.

Thirdly, each chapter follows a similar plot line. Readers most often times finds the main character waking up to the darkness. This makes the novel extremely predictable. For example, for Hahp's story, Hahp always wakes up to the pounding on his bedroom door. He cleans himself up, follows a wizard down the halls to his classes, meets up with the other students, does his lessons, then goes back to his room brooding how to escape the nightmarish place he is in.

Fourth, there is hardly any actual characterization in the novel. All of the characters are flat; hardly are they dynamic. Somiss will always be a cruel and violent wizard. Luke will always be a bully. The author seems to choose only one character trait for each character and lets it stick with them for the rest of their lives, allowing for no growth whatsoever.

Overall, the book is predictable and just drags on. There are a lot of filler chapters that the author uses in an attempt to lengthen the novel. Out of the seventy or so chapters there are, at least half of them can be removed, lengthened somewhat for more details, and there will still be a story. Most of the characters I also find to be annoying. However, you can't not give the author for trying. The story idea itself has potential. If only she can develop it more into a much more dynamic novel.(less)

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Mar 30, 2013 Monica! rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: but-wait-theres-more, the-sparkles-mean-its-magic, your-reality-alarms-me, dammit-author-stop-being-awesome, ust-ftw, you-go-girl, this-must-be-what-pain-feels-like, read-in-2013

As you may or may not remember, friends, I tore through the first book in this series, Skin Hunger, like it was my JOB…

… and then collapsed, devastated, with the realization that only two books in the trilogy have been written, and book three appeared to totally never have even been planned, let alone be, you know... pending… and my soul was in tears and it was all very terrible and I wanted to cry but I was still filled with happiness from reading and everything was filled with drama and my fac...more

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Dec 07, 2011 Baba Yaga rated it 4 of 5 stars

Sadima, Franklin, and Somiss, driven out of Limòri by a suspicious fire, are living in a cave hidden within the cliffs that overlook the city. Somiss is convinced the dark passages of the caves were the home of ancient magicians, and his obsession with restoring magic deepens. Sadima dreams of escape -- for her, for Franklin, and for the orphaned street boys Somiss has imprisoned in a crowded cage. Somiss claims he will teach these boys magic, that they will become his first students, but Sadima...more Sadima, Franklin, and Somiss, driven out of Limòri by a suspicious fire, are living in a cave hidden within the cliffs that overlook the city. Somiss is convinced the dark passages of the caves were the home of ancient magicians, and his obsession with restoring magic deepens. Sadima dreams of escape -- for her, for Franklin, and for the orphaned street boys Somiss has imprisoned in a crowded cage. Somiss claims he will teach these boys magic, that they will become his first students, but Sadima knows he is lying.

Generations later, Hahp is struggling to survive the wizards' increasingly dangerous classes at the Limòri Academy of Magic. He knows the fragile pact he has forged with his secretive roommate, Gerrard, will not be enough to put an end to the evil. It will take all the students acting together to have any chance of destroying the academy. Building trust, with few chances to speak or plan, will be almost impossible, but there is no choice.

I must admit, I not as fond as the official introduction nor the book itself as I was to the first of the series, to which I was most partial, but, once I had sped through the first volume of the series, I was most desperate to get my hands on the sequel, and, here we are.

Unfortunately, I could not quite fit into this story as I did the other (much like how a pair of pants never quite fit after you wash them the first time), and at times I found it to be quite the "drag" if you will.

I think this is in part due to the rather...tedious, mind-numbing tale of Sadima's time in Somiss's caves, which took me nearly a week to get through, something that never leaves well with me. But, after you get through this, it considerably picks up, and I must admit I did get weepy in a spot or two (though you didn't here it from me).

Hahp's tale, on the other hand, wasn't much different for the first hundred pages than it was the previous book, but it does allow quite a few key plot points slip through, which, for me, makes it all worth it in its own way.

Th only thing that does rather sadden my view of this sequel is the knowledge that Hahp and his group of merry misfits are planning (view spoiler)

There really isn't much I can't say that I have stated in the review of Skin Hunger, though I must highly recommend you read Skin Hunger before reading this, since you would be left stranded in the sea of information that you are lacking.

Do svidaniya, my friends,

Baba Yaga(less)

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May 26, 2010 Sam rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya

Sacred Scars is the long awaited (well, to me and my husband anyway!) second part of Duey's YA series A Resurrection of Magic- the first installment was Skin Hunger which I love love loved and is one of my faves to get to fantasy loving teens. If you didn't read the first one, don't pick this up! You will have positively no clue what's happening as it takes off exactly where Skin Hunger left the story.

Sacred Scars continues the dual stories of Sadima and Hahp- Sadima as she works with Franklin a...more

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Oct 17, 2009 Eva Mitnick rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, ya

As anyone who has read at least the first quarter of the first book in this series, Skin Hunger, knows, Sadima not only does isn't able to stop Somiss, but 200 years later he and his magicians are still torturing and killing young boys in the name of magic. In Sacred Scars, we find out why Sadima did not succeed and what happened to her, as the timeline of her story gets closer and closer to student Hahp's time.

Meanwhile, Hahp and his fellow students continue to survive, but only just barely, as...more

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Sep 22, 2009 Chris rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: dark, fantasy, ya, not-graphic, adult

"He hates Somiss," I breathed. "So long as he knew we all cared about him and--"

"Hate is complicated," Gerrard interrupted me again.

"No, it isn’t," I whispered, and he didn’t answer me. He didn’t need to. I knew he was right.

Hate is complicated. So are all of our feelings and motives. And evil is insidious, finding a way to taint even the best of intentions. No matter how infrequently he actually enters this story in the flesh, Somiss is the primary influence on every character in it, worming hi...more

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Sep 02, 2009 Christy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen-fiction

Wow, what an amazing story. I wasn't sure about the first title in the Resurrection of Magic series - Skin Hunger - but now that I have finished the second title and the story is beginning to come together I can see the brillance behind it all. Skin Hunger (the first in the series)is told in a double narrative in alternating chapters with characters living centuries apart. There are hints that the tales are connected but they are also very different. One tale is about a poor young girl named Sad...more

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Aug 29, 2012 Aparajita rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favourites, favourite-series, 5-stars

This book takes off where book 1 in the Resurrection of Magic trilogy (Skin Hunger) ended. Sadima is still trying to convince Franklin to escape from Somiss and now she wants to take the caged orphans as well. Hahp and his fellow students are still at the academy of magic and struggling to keep up with the challenges.

For the 1st 100 pages or so, this book was slow, building up on what the first book had already established - Sadima's love for Franklin and her frustration that he is bound to Somi...more This book takes off where book 1 in the Resurrection of Magic trilogy (Skin Hunger) ended. Sadima is still trying to convince Franklin to escape from Somiss and now she wants to take the caged orphans as well. Hahp and his fellow students are still at the academy of magic and struggling to keep up with the challenges.

For the 1st 100 pages or so, this book was slow, building up on what the first book had already established - Sadima's love for Franklin and her frustration that he is bound to Somiss, scary challenges for Hahp and his companions and their building hatred for the academy. But, for me, it was slow in a good way and I enjoyed it, despite nothing much moving along. I was just happy to be back in Sadima and Hahp's worlds!

After that, things became fast paced very quickly. Sadima finally escaped and the rest of the story chronicles her life on her own. Kathleen Duey added a huge twist that changed Sadima's life in a big way, one that I did not expect it at all and I loved it! Unlike Skin Hunger, where I was very frustrated with Sadima, I spent this book cheering her on. She grew into a kind, loving, independent character.
Hahp's life became tougher with the challenges getting more and more bizarre. His character developed as well and grew up into a more grounded person, taking every obstacle head on. Gerrard remained frustrating and intriguing. I had a lot of questions about where he came from and who he is, but didn't really get any answers. I found myself loathing Somiss, my blood boiled everytime he appeared and Franklin remained as spineless as ever.

Compared to book 1, this one is darker and scarier. We get insights into Somiss' life and activities that are revolting and Hahp and the other students took a step that had me gasping in shock and fear. There was some interlinking among the two parallel storylines, but not a lot and mostly towards the end. I still have a lot of doubts and questions that I am hoping book 3 will answer! All in all, Scared Scars is a terrifying and exciting sequel and I loved it even more than Skin Hunger. I am anxiously awaiting the end of the series. (less)

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Feb 19, 2011 Rosa rated it 3 of 5 stars

I wasn't going to write a review because I don't have much to say that isn't an echo of previous complaints, but I feel compelled to at least differentiate my lukewarm-star-assignation from that of the "too many f-bombs" camp. For the record, I have no issue w/ the profanity or the bleakness (although I must confess, I have a hard time figuring out what age I'd let my sons read this series), and I do find it amusing that these people are more thrown off by the swear words than the sexual abuse/p...more

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Oct 04, 2009 K. Bird rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've encountered this strange phenomenon in other Duey books that I found with "Sacred Scars."

There is a lot of tense, anxious waiting by the main characters. Nothing much happens plotwise, and yet lots of things happen in the slow, psychological build-up/change in the characters' thinking.

Which should be boring. But in this book, the suspense of all the unanswered questions in Hahp's side of the story regarding who the wizards are, what they will do to the students, and why they are so cruel ke...more

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Jul 20, 2010 Kimberly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

For the first 175 (!) pages of this book I kept wondering when something interesting would happen. This book was 550-something pages long and we really could have done without the first 175 as they were just more of the same leftover from Skin Hunger: Sadima and Franklin struggle to live under Somiss's rule, Sadima continually copies the magic songs and realizes that Somiss is changing the words around, Franklin professes his love for Sadima and refuses to do anything about it, and the boys at t...more

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Aug 19, 2012 Leanna rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, magic, wishlist

This book is epic, and so so sad. Seriously, I don't know how much more sadness I can take when this trilogy is completed.

My thoughts:

I was heartbroken when Sadima (view spoiler)...more This book is epic, and so so sad. Seriously, I don't know how much more sadness I can take when this trilogy is completed.

My thoughts:

I was heartbroken when Sadima (view spoiler)

The Hahp/Academy storyline continues to engross and disturb me. When I read the blurb on the book jacket describing the "increasingly difficult" lessons, I thought- let's get real, these kids are already starving and fear for their lives, how much worse will it get? And then, of course, it does get worse. (view spoiler) Now I understand a bit more about the purpose of the breathing techniques, but I still don't really get the whole structure of the Academy. Somiss is clearly the "Founder" Hahp keeps reading about, but how are they promoting wizards with these methods? Are all the old wizards the original boys from Sadima's time in the caves? We've seen that the caves she was trapped in are the same ones Hahp explores, and have met adult versions of Jux, Wren, and I think a couple others. Also, is Somiss younger-looking than Franklin now because Franklin was only getting the youth-song sung to him while Sadima was there? Ahhhh!! So much still to learn!

I think the characters continue to develop in engrossing ways. Last book, I started off pretty pro-Franklin, but he's really lost my esteem in this one. JUST ESCAPE ALREADY! Gah. And Somiss is now on my extreme dislike list. Oh, and Gerrard continues to be puzzling & mysterious... I wondered before if he was somehow a descendant of Sadima? He sure knows a lot about how the Academy works...

The ending was another abrupt one. Hello, stopping in the middle of a scene- nice to see you again. Or not. I was lucky to be able to read the first two books one after the other. Now I have to wait in agony for the end to the story!

Both the first book and this one (but more this second one) make you reconsider the usual ideas about magic. I'm eager to find out who wins in the end!(less)

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Nov 01, 2009 Karin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult-fiction, fantasy, mages-wizards, magic, wizard-school, mystery, borrowed-from-the-library

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. In alternating chapters, Sadima and Hahp tell their stories, which began in Skin Hunger. Their tales are slowly coming together, although they began many years apart. Sadima fails in her attempts to convince Franklin to run away with her, and leaves the caves where they have been living with Somiss and his kidnapped orphan boys. She and the boys are recaptured, and Somiss divests Sadima of her memories and leaves her to fend for herself in the rough South End district. She makes a life there for...more In alternating chapters, Sadima and Hahp tell their stories, which began in Skin Hunger. Their tales are slowly coming together, although they began many years apart. Sadima fails in her attempts to convince Franklin to run away with her, and leaves the caves where they have been living with Somiss and his kidnapped orphan boys. She and the boys are recaptured, and Somiss divests Sadima of her memories and leaves her to fend for herself in the rough South End district. She makes a life there for herself, eventually, and finds some happiness and peace. She never ages, however, and this oddity makes it impossible for her to have a normal life. When Somiss and the other wizards come for her yet again, she manages to elude them. Meanwhile, Hahp and the other boys have made a pact to kill the wizards, end the magic academy, and share their knowledge with all the people. Hahp and the others learn to open their minds so they can hear one another’s thoughts, and plan to use this ability to communicate in secret. It’s not clear what the wizards have planned for them, so the boys are biding their time as they become more competent and skilled.

The education of the young wizards is a fascinating (and cruel) process – very different from the education of, say, a Hogwarts student. The boys don’t know what they’re learning or why, half the time, and they have to figure so much out on their own. The wizards are very secretive, but something is obviously brewing. Neither the boys, nor we as readers, however, know what that is. Once Sadima leaves Franklin behind her, her story is much more interesting. Somiss robs her of so much when he takes her memories, but she fights her way back – finding the skills she knows, but not knowing where they come from or who she was before she woke up in South End. There were a few instances when I was jolted right out of the story – whenever someone swore. Generally bad language doesn’t bother me, but our words didn’t feel right in this world that Kathleen Duey had created. I wished she’d made different choices in those instances. Other than that, I was riveted, and I can’t wait to find out what happens next. (less)

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Sep 15, 2009 Jackie rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 12, 2013 Leslie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, dystopia, paranormal, ya, series

Sacred Scars continues the story of Sadima and Hahp in alternating chapters. Sadima, Franklin and Somiss leave Limori after a fire and move into an enormous network of underground tunnels. Somiss has taken several boys prisoner there and claims he will teach them magic. Sadima dreams of running away with Franklin, but as the story progresses she sees Franklin will never leave Somiss. If she is to leave it will be her taking the boys leaving Franklin and Somiss behind.
In the other part of the st...more

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Jul 03, 2012 foo4luv rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult

Sequel to Skin Hunger. Wow. If Somiss didn't creep you out in the first book.... Things are getting worse for everyone. In the past, Sadima is trying to convince Franklin to run away with her from Somiss and take the boys with them, but Franklin is having a difficult time with the concept of actually being able to leave his master. In the present, Hahp and Gerrard are still figuring out their tentative pact to help each other survive the academy, but will helping each other be the cause of their...more

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May 07, 2011 Kary Rader rated it 4 of 5 stars

The jacket cover still scares the crap out of me. Life for these this hero and heroine sucks. No two ways about it. There is one common denominator for the suckiness -- his name is Somiss and every character in every timeline knows Somiss HAS TO DIE!!!!!

Hahp and Gerrard et al are now murderers? That is a hard dose to swallow as a reader.
Sadima is void of all memories and walks around like a hollow shell for 200 years?

This is by far the most depressing gut wrenching story I've every read. There w...more

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Dec 19, 2009 Deborah rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Nanci

Shelves: fantasy

Sadima is trapped in a cave with Franklin and Somiss and a cage full of orphaned boys. Despite his love for Sadima, Franklin feels bound to Somiss and delays escaping with Sadima and the boys. Meanwhile, Sadima finds out that Somiss is lying about the progress he has made with the songs and magic.

The alternating chapters are several decades later.... Hahp is progressing with his magic studies faster than the other boys, although he comes to realize that Gerrard actually knows the magician instr...more

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Jun 15, 2010 Meghan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, split-narrative, ya

Dark young adult fantasy featuring torture, murder, and the use of magic, Sacred Scars picks up exactly where Skin Hunger leaves off. Sadima has been forced to retreat with her love, Franklin, and his wizard master, Somiss, to a large linked series of underground caves, after Somiss' royal father might have had their house burned down. Somiss is now experimenting with young street kids who he has taken captive. In the other storyline, Hahp and his wizard school roommate are debating whether to l...more

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Dec 12, 2009 Alicia rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure-suspense, fantasy

A strong second book in this dark fantasy trilogy, which is a notable accomplishment since Book 1, Skin Hunger, was a National Book Award finalist. I describe this series as the Anti-Potter: you've got a school for young wizards, but the teachers are horrible and cruel, and only one student in each class (if that) ever survives to graduate. Hahp and his classmates continue to learn magic and try to survive, while a plan to band together and destroy Somiss and their other cruel masters begins to...more

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Apr 26, 2012 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Duey is working on the final book of the trilogy right now, and I'm excited for when it comes out.

This installation was just as great as the first, though primarily for the thread involving Gerrard and Hahp. The book (like the first) alternates chapters following Sadima (written in third person) to Hahp (in first person), and I kept reading for Hahp's story. The Sadima thread was very boring, repeating information and thoughts over and over for the first third of the book. Then there was a bit o...more

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Mar 28, 2010 Kari Ramirez rated it 4 of 5 stars

I don't know why I like this series so much, but I do. Each chapter switches between two different characters seemingly centuries apart. Connected through magic and circumstance by knowing the story of Hahp, you know the story of Sadima. Or so you think.

Since time switches with each chapter you know that Somiss & Franklin are wizards at the school that Hahp struggles at so it is frustrating reading Sadima's trials because you feel you already know how it ends, it doesn't matter. But it does!...more

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Sep 18, 2009 Emily Duncan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Ok, first off, this book has probably one of the best covers ever. I absolutely adore it.
With that said, on top of the amazing cover (or... should i say underneath?) is a book that is totally and completely spectacular.
So, i feel that fantasy has been a tad bit ignored in this sudden vampire/urban fantasy craze. So, when i find a truly good fantasy, i get way excited.
This is the second book in the... hmm i'm gonna say trilogy, but don't quote me on that one. I'm not 100% sure. Like the first one...more Ok, first off, this book has probably one of the best covers ever. I absolutely adore it.
With that said, on top of the amazing cover (or... should i say underneath?) is a book that is totally and completely spectacular.
So, i feel that fantasy has been a tad bit ignored in this sudden vampire/urban fantasy craze. So, when i find a truly good fantasy, i get way excited.
This is the second book in the... hmm i'm gonna say trilogy, but don't quote me on that one. I'm not 100% sure. Like the first one Skin Hunger (which, if you've never read, go do it N O W. seriously. You will NOT be disappointed) this book is in the same style as the first, switching from Sadima to Hahp, two people living centuries apart.
Now, very few authors do this which i kind of understand. I have another book done in this style and i had found that the chapters about one character dragged so all i wanted to read was the chapters about the other character.
This one, though, i'm excited when it's Hahp, or Sadima. Both they're stories are so dark and heartbreaking.
Another plus about this book. Very very dark (and you all know how much i love a good dark fantasy)
In this one, Hahp and the other students (now whittled down to 6) continue to learn magic in attempts to destroy the school they've been sent to and kill the wizards for putting them through the torture of starvation, betrayal, and pain. (and if that alone doesn't make you want to read it... well then, you're crazy)
Centuries earlier, Sadima works in the cavern that Somiss & Franklin have been forced into to go into hiding. She copies the songs and tries to plan a way to escape with the orphans that Somiss has captured. When she manages... well.... that part shocked me so much that i'm definitely not going to tell you what happened.
I am now so very very excited to read the next (last?) book. Because i really really really want to know about what happens to not only Sadima and Hahp, but Franklin as well. ;)
So, i'm changing my ranking system from 1-5 stars to 1-10 stars. Just cause i can better rate a book.
This one definitely gets 10 stars =D
(less)

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Aug 14, 2012 Catie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Catie by: Tatiana

Shelves: fantasy, read-in-2012, series, ya

And now I shall join the ranks of fans waiting not-so-patiently for the third book in this series to come out. Come on, Kathleen Duey! You can’t leave us hanging like this! You can’t just broadcast little gems like this one:

and expect us not to explode with longing. Gah.

I haven’t felt this obsessed with a series for a very long time. This was like Harry Potter level obsession for me. It was like that level of obsession where you stare at your hardback with regret every time you have to go out...more And now I shall join the ranks of fans waiting not-so-patiently for the third book in this series to come out. Come on, Kathleen Duey! You can’t leave us hanging like this! You can’t just broadcast little gems like this one:

and expect us not to explode with longing. Gah.

I haven’t felt this obsessed with a series for a very long time. This was like Harry Potter level obsession for me. It was like that level of obsession where you stare at your hardback with regret every time you have to go out and do something in real life. And you're thinking frantically, “maybe I should just take it with me. I might have two minutes to read at a stop light or…while I’m waiting for the cashier to ring up my stuff. It could happen.” Thankfully I was blessed with both the audio and the print version of this book at the same time, so really there was so reason for me to stop reading this at any point (cashier's understand hand signals and vague nodding, am I right?). I basically inhaled it in one day.

The two storylines, which I so much wanted to see intersect in the last book, still haven’t come together but in this installment I found it hard to care. I found it hard to care about any of my qualms from the first book, actually. Everything about this series is just so dark and disturbing and complicated and awesome.

In the first book, the relationship between Sadima, Franklin, and Somiss really bothered me – I couldn’t understand why Sadima would cling to her foolish hopes and stick around when clearly, nothing was ever going to change. Well, in this book there was much resolution on that front and oh, how it broke my heart. I mean, the relationship was just as disturbing and I cringed every time Sadima and Franklin spoke to each other, but it was a respectful sort of cringe – like – fair play to you, Kathleen Duey, for writing a fucked up relationship so realistically. And there’s a fantastic twist with Sadima that just made my respect for her grow by leaps and bounds. When she finally acknowledges that her hopes are nothing but wishful fantasy, she doesn’t just give up. She keeps on fighting, and she pays the price for her daring.

Meanwhile, in Hahp’s world, his thoughts are becoming even more twisted and violent as he’s subjected to years of mental and physical torture. And he’s also becoming stronger magically, but not everyone in his “class” is succeeding quite as much as he is. Unfortunately for him, the wizard teachers seem bent on highlighting and even artificially enhancing the boys' strengths and weaknesses, in an effort to increase competition and jealousy among them. Should he just watch his classmates starve and die? Or can he find a way to bring them together so that the remaining boys might survive?

Honestly, I think that Hahp’s hopes for saving everyone are just as futile as Sadima’s hopes were of saving Franklin. And I think Kathleen Duey knows that too. So many fairy tales feature young boys and girls who are isolated, starved, abused, neglected…and then somehow emerge from that life whole and kind and just, ready to be heroes in their own right. I have to really respect Kathleen Duey for acknowledging that years of torture and abuse will leave a mark, and for writing this story with that in mind. Hahp and his classmates are genuinely disturbed, and as much as they might wish to do the right thing, it remains to be seen whether they are actually capable of that anymore. I would like to believe that they are, but I think it’s going to take a great deal of effort and healing to get there. And that ending was not promising. I mean, it was completely twisted and horrifying and I loved every minute of it, but it was not promising for Hahp and his classmates.

I’m so torn about where I want this book to go and at the same time, I am loving that I have no idea where it’s headed. I want Hahp to succeed in his plan to unite the boys and I want him to break free and find a quiet place to heal. But I also want him to become a powerful magician and murder everyone who’s ever done him wrong. I want Franklin to be redeemed. I also want Franklin to die. I want Sadima to safeguard magic forever and make sure it never again falls into the wrong hands. And I also want Sadima to storm the school of magic, flanked by a whole gang of immigrant women and show Somiss exactly where he can go. I am conflicted.

But the one thing that I am genuinely not conflicted about is that I really really want book three in this series ASAP. Please?

Perfect Musical Pairing

Sarah Jaffe – Hooray For Love

Just know that I’m chuckling right now, imagining all of you doing a double-take at that song title after reading my review all about how disturbing and twisted this book is. Ha! So, obviously…when she says “Hooray For Love” in this song, she means that in the bitterest, most sarcastic sense. This is my song for the Sadima of this book, disillusioned but still strong.

Also seen on The Readventurer.(less)

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Jul 26, 2010 Melissa Bennett rated it 4 of 5 stars

At first I wasn't sure if I would like this book. I was looking forward to it after reading the first in this series but as it started out it seemed a lot like the first one. I didn't want to read a book that had pretty much the same things happening in it as the first. I felt compelled to stick to it though. I just had to find out where these books were going. I'm so glad I did. The course changed and when it did I couldn't put it down.
In this book Sadima, Franklin & Somiss are living in a...more

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Jan 15, 2010 Rachel rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Rachel by: Chris Koppenhaver

Shelves: fantasy, ya, soapbox

While this is definitely the middle book in the series—without a definite beginning or end—it succeeded in pulling me further into the world Duey has created. I actually love the first book more for having read this one.

The biggest draw for me is definitely the world-building. There's a genuine sense that the author has thought out, in depth, everyone and everything in her universe, and then polished it up for the glimpses we catch. The overwhelming feeling of reality is what makes it so spellbi...more

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Jan 18, 2010 Bex rated it 1 of 5 stars

As per my review of Skin hunger, I promised myself I would not waste my time reading an exceptionally boring book if it was still bad after the first 150 pages.

It was still boring... and instead of the boys pissing (which they still do a lot), they are also doing exactly what they were doing for the majority of the first book. And we have boys in a cage eating bread while learning how to write from their teacher, Sadima. Who is completely unlikeable, by the way. Somiss is still a sadist- and Fra...more

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Jun 25, 2012 Helen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure, fantasy

I loved the 1st book in the series Skin Hunger and I loved this book as well. I gotta admit, I was kinda freaked out by the cover image, but the picture was perfect for the darkness and evil woven through the whole plot. I'm still trying to figure out who the woman on the cover is...my thinking it that it must be Sadima 'cause that's the whole main character that's a female in the whole book, but what do I know?

Anyways, this book was surprisingly much larger than the 1st book in the series, muc...more

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May 23, 2012 Kyle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-favorites, best-books-of-all-time, evil-cliffhanger, fantasy, favorite-characters, favorites, love-story-decent, mind-blowing, need-the-sequel-to-live, phenominal, really-excited, unique-setting, what-did-i-just-read, will-definitely-re-read

4.5

This review will be spoiler-free for people, even if you haven't read the first (fantastic) book in this (fantasic) trilogy, Skin Hunger.

Skin Hunger was a dark fantasy novel, and was not in any way a fun read. After the rather anticlimatic ending of the first book (don't let the word "anticlimatic" deter you, it's still fantastic!), we're thrown into a whole new ball park. We still follow or main characters Sadima Killip and Hahp, whose stories are set centuries apart.

For a book that clocks...more 4.5

This review will be spoiler-free for people, even if you haven't read the first (fantastic) book in this (fantasic) trilogy, Skin Hunger.

Skin Hunger was a dark fantasy novel, and was not in any way a fun read. After the rather anticlimatic ending of the first book (don't let the word "anticlimatic" deter you, it's still fantastic!), we're thrown into a whole new ball park. We still follow or main characters Sadima Killip and Hahp, whose stories are set centuries apart.

For a book that clocks in at 554 pages, I was never bored, and while at times, for very brief periods, it could be slow, it never felt so slow I wanted to put the book down. The pages flew by, and I was enthralled in this world, these characters, this story, everything about it.

I do have some issues however. I do like the writing, and while it's good, I noticed that, especially when reading about Sadima, the sentences are very choppy. Normally that doesn't bother me too much, but in this book it did. Also, around 300 pages into the book, something happens to Sadima, and it completely changes her story, and even more so, her character. I didn't enjoy her as much in the second half, simply because she was so foreign to the Sadima I'd come to grow and love since the first installment. I mean, she still possessed traits that the old Sadima had, but some of her outlooks on stuff that she'd once believe in change, and something about her just felt off (and I know, something was off, but it really bugged me).

Yes, the way how time would fly by also annoyed me. One paragraph skipped five years into the future for Sadima! I know, her story covers over a large expanse of time, yet that doesn't mean I'm under any obligation to like it.

Yet I still love everything else about this book. While it's not the greatest climax to a book, the ending is stronger than the first one. The writing is also solid, when I wasn't getting annoyed by the choppy sentences (which weren't too frequent). The characters are unique, dark, and have depth and layers to them. The world, especially in this book thanks to the extra 200 pages added and the second half of Sadima's story, is more fully realized, and we learn more of the various cultures that inhabit her world during this time. It's atmospheric.

After that ending, I cannot wait to dive into the third and final installment, whenever that book comes out. So far, the only info I've heard is that a third book will come out. No title, cover, synoposis, releaste date, or estimated year of release, nothing. Just the publisher, and Untitled (A Ressurection of Magic, #3).(less)

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title link	preview: Sacred Scars
avg rating	preview: Sacred Scars Goodreads rating: 4.08 (945 ratings)
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2873356-sacred-scars?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1275460378l/2873356.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2873356-sacred-scars?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Sacred Scars by Kathleen Duey[/url]

Sacred Scars (A Resurrection of Magic #2)

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