Review for The Initiate

Blurb:

A junction erupts between the worlds in Settler, Oregon, a rift from which horrors attack our world. The Rifters defend us.

To trust unquestioningly is the first lesson Daelin Long must learn as the newest Initiate of the Rifters. Her first day is a disaster. She stands on a deserted street in a town smaller than a city district, courting killer rocks from another world with her ancestor from the Revolutionary War. Normal no longer exists.

While she struggles, Earl Blacke grapples with atoning for his past ill deeds, running far and fast from Settler, Oregon. The Shaman of the Desert promises him redemption, and an old mine puts the possibility of a gold strike in his grasp. His luck has changed for the better, but he can’t have both.

You're never a hero until you are.

 

My review:

The small Oregon town of Settler is more than just a pretty view. This is where a rift between worlds opens and lets the monsters travel through. Only a small, brave band called the Rifters protect Earth from it. Daelin Long is the newest Initiate. After everything that's happened to her in NYC and the disappearance of her sister, she doesn't trust anyone. But that is exactly what she must do to rise in the ranks. Earl Blacke remains a mystery to Daelin, and she believes he holds the answers she needs. Yet Earl struggles with his past sins while their enemies in the rift plot far worse things for Earth.

This is the second book in the Rifters series, and it's even better than the first. We still have our small western town and quirky townsfolk. They have no idea what's looming over their heads, and it just makes it that much more entertaining. I love that Settler is in the midst of its annual festival, Swit Days, when this story takes place. Settler's personality rings as loudly as all the other characters in the book.

I'm still a big Daelin fan. She's unlike your typical heroine, and paired along side the Rifters, they make the Scooby gang look dry and suburbian. Daelin is challenged even further in this book, not just with her sister's disappearance, but her own inner demons as she tries to learn to trust again. Earl's journey to come to terms with his past is a fun, bumpy ride. One of my new favorites that we're introduced to is Silas. A brilliant and fascinating mind on that man.

One of the aspects that stands out in this book is the enemy currently threatening Settler's population. And threatening seems like too mild of a word for it! I'll never look at red stones the same way again.

This is my favorite book by M. Pax so far. I'm hungry for more!

 

Buy THE INITIATE here: 

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Find Mary Pax here!