Book Review: Guardian of the Gate by Michelle Zink

Title: Guardian of the Gate
Author: Michelle Zink
Series: Prophecy of the Sisters #2
Publisher: Little, Brown Books
Release Date: August 1 2010
My Source: Library

My Rating: 3.5/5

Goodreads Summary:
The ultimate battle between sisters is nearing, and its outcome could have catastrophic consequences. As sixteen year-old Lia Milthorpe searches for a way to end the prophecy, her twin sister Alice hones the skills she'll need to defeat Lia. Alice will stop at nothing to reclaim her sister's role in the prophecy, and that's not the only thing she wants: There's also Lia's boyfriend James.

Lia and Alice always knew the Prophecy would turn those closest to them against them. But they didn't know what betrayal could lead them to do. In the end, only one sister will be left standing.

My Review:

This is the second book in the Prophecy of the Sisters trilogy. I gave the first book, titled Prophecy of the Sisters, a 4/5 stars, and I'm only giving this one a 3.5. I wanted to explain this- I didn't like this book any less than the first book, only looking back on PotS, if I was rating it right now I probably would only give it a 3.5, but I'm not going back and changing it, of course.

I like this series a lot, but they have flaws. Mostly, I found it hard to keep engaged in this book. I didn't feel like there was a lot of tension with the plot, and in reality, over the course of this whole book NOTHING happened. This was my main problem. In the end it picked up a little, leaving us with a good cliffhanger for the third book, but before that, there just wasn't a lot of plot happening. Even though it was good, it felt a little slow. I was expecting more action from the second book in the series. It didn't really happen for me. (Maybe the third one? I'm hoping.)

The writing was as beautiful as the first book. Lia's voice is elegant, and I almost feel like I'm reading a paranormal story written by Jane Austen, without SO much romance (does that even make sense? Maybe that's just me). The smooth language and flow is amazing. Since this book does take place in the 18th or 19th century, it makes sense that Lia would talk and think the way she does. It's very appropriate to the time. I loved it. If you read my first review, you'll also know I loved the mythology of the story. It's very well developed, if not entirely unique.

The ever present YA love triangle shows up in this book. I liked the introduction of the newest character- Dimitri. I won't say much about him, but he's great and provides a good contrast to James. I'm interested in seeing how Lia will deal with the inevitable conflict between the two that was only briefly mentioned in this book.

One tiny complaint I have- where is Alice? She hardly appeared in this book. What was she doing while Lia was going through all her happenings? There wasn't much confrontation between the two sisters after the first couple of chapters. I practically forgot about Alice's existence. I understand the book isn't from her point of view, but it's good to have villians that actually appear sometimes! Alice was such an intriging and creepy character in the first book, I missed having her around most of the time. (Though she wasn't completely absent- She was still present throughout, just not as much as I would've liked!)

If you loved Prophecy of the Sisters, you'll love this one too. Overall I give this book (and the trilogy so far) a 3.5/5 stars.I would recommend reading this series if you're a fan of mythology, historical books with good romance and storylines! If you haven't read Prophecy of the Sisters, you have to read it first, but if you like it, be sure to continue by reading Guardian of the Gate!

Buy from Amazon:


Author Info: Website/Blog