The Dark Season
Full disclosure – I was provided an early copy of this book by the author, however, I have voluntarily chosen to write a review. All opinions are my own.
Season of Talium is currently scheduled for a March 24, 2018, release.
Season of Talium is the second book in the Scavenger Girl series by author Jennifer Arntson. Picking up immediately at the close of Season of Atchem, Una has returned home to be with her family during the dark and dangerous months of Talium. Settling back into life in the cabin Una wants only to leave the horrors of the Atchem festival behind and enjoy her time with her family before her betrothal to Blue becomes officially binding. When a startling vision becomes a stark reality, Una finds herself in the custody of the Authority, which is no place for a Scavenger to be. This Talium will prove to be the darkest one ever for Una as she finds herself incarcerated by the Authority facing an unknown crime and unspeakable horrors.
The season of Talium in the fictional world of Ashlund is described as a period of utter darkness when the days are replaced with an unending night and only the wolves dare to roam the land. This is also a particularly treacherous season for Scavengers as those who are unable to hide in their homes, like Una and her family, are hunted by the Authority and the animals. Una soon finds that the darkness that inhabits the land also permeates the hearts of some as she is pulled from her family and thrust into an unimaginable and very hostile situation. As she undergoes her enforced captivity, Una discovers a buried piece of her history that will irrevocably alter her view of Ashlund and its people.
If you have not started reading this series, you need to start, NOW! Arntson has created a world that is so easy to conceive that you will be sucked in from the first chapter and will not want the story to end. The contrast in tone between Atchem and Talium is a literary Yin and Yang of awesomeness that had me binge reading into the early hours and at times when I really should have been doing other things. For as much as Una’s story in the first book gave me hope that a person of her stature could rise above her situation, Talium broke my heart and crushed my soul. The end of this book was so satisfying to me that I was literally cheering and crying at the same time. Una is emerging more and more as a strong, resilient and resourceful woman that is not to be messed with. If the story ends with Talium, I would be satisfied but I am also so glad that there is more of the story to be told. Good or bad, I cannot wait to see what happens next.
Jennly Reads 