Cold Light by Traci L. SlattonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
The AFTER TRILOGY is consuming me and I’m okay with that.
“I experienced a presence with me...The presence was a man. He was black-haired and gray-eyed, with a perfection and symmetry of feature that thrilled me. I had once been an artist, and even still, in this failing and obliterated world, beauty made an impression on me. Arthur’s beauty. Arthur who had loved me and hurt me in ways I couldn’t have imagined Before.”
A year and a half after Emma left Arthur for Canada to be with her husband, Haywood, and her daughters, Mandy and Beth, she finds that leaving her love did not make it disappear. Even after discovering Arthur’s terrible secret, she longs for him and endures emotional and physical pain without him. When Beth is taken by a rogue group of survivors, Emma embarks on what most people consider a suicide mission to save her. It’s during this trip through the coldest parts of Canada, that Emma also discovers that Arthur has come for her and is determined to get her back and help her find Beth. She now must find her daughter through harsh elements and other dangers while also deciding her future between Haywood and her girls or a life with Arthur.
I can’t say I would know what to do if I were in Emma’s shoes because it seems like an almost impossible decision, but I think I would choose the same. She is very consistent in her actions that prove she would do anything for her children. While this series is full of paranormal elements and science fiction in a world that doesn’t exist, the base emotions and feelings the characters experience are very much full of real life problems. It is this aspect of Traci L. Slatton’s writing that ties you into a world that isn’t real and makes you feel connected to the story and the characters. One part of the story that I felt was important was Emma’s realization that she didn’t just leave Arthur. She also left her new “family” and they are very hurt and rejected. We also learn more about Haywood and I wanted to dislike him so that her decision leans towards Arthur, but her husband is really a great guy.
Like FALLEN, COLD LIGHT is full of complex emotions and relationships and the secondary characters are very much a part of this well-written story. I really wanted to give COLD LIGHT five stars, but it was more 4.5 stars in my opinion. It felt like a bridge between the beginning and the end without much to discover or learn. The story was still amazing and full of action, but there was something missing in the story that I am really hoping to get in the third installment. I am extremely glad I am getting ready to read FAR SHORE because that ending was seriously abrupt.
One thing is for certain, I am totally enthralled with this series. I can barely stop reading long enough to write the review and I hope that there are others that feel the same way I do. Traci L. Slatton deserves kudos for this well-written and thoughtful series that encompasses so many feelings and emotions on life’s big questions while keeping a reader entertained with a post-apocalyptic life that many of us wonder could ever be a reality.
✳✳ Copy provided by the author/publisher for an honest review.
✳✳ Reviewed on I ♥ Bookie Nookie Reviews by Tickled Pink for Book Ink
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