Review by Hillary: Amulet of Power by Katie Lynn Johnson

Title: Amulet of Power (The Lost Amulet Chronicles #2)
Author: Katie Lynn Johnson
Publishing Company: Amazon Publishing
Genre: YA—Fantasy/Adventure/Romance
Pages: 363
Released: June 9th 2013

Lost Memories. Dark Enchantments.And a Long-Forgotten Source of Unimaginable Power.

Keeping her end of a desperate bargain to save her island home from destruction, Alexa Costa finds herself in the unlikely employ of Queen Jada. Bound by a powerful spell, she swears allegiance to the kingdom of Alvair and remembers nothing of her romance with Caleb. Now she must adjust to life within the castle, where her personal opinion means nothing, her skills are constantly put to the test, and her private thoughts are public knowledge. 

Rumors abound and secrecy reigns in Queen Jada’s inner circle, the members of which include the mysterious Prince Dante, the self-obsessed Princess Tiana, and the valiant Captain Whitman of the Alvairan Army. Once again forced to make impossible decisions because of her rare abilities, Alexa must overcome the darkness within the castle by first overcoming the darkness within herself.

Purchase Amulet of Elusion on Amazon! 

I would like to thank Katie Lynn Johnson for not only allowing me to review such an adventurous story, but also for writing such an amazing series.

I once said that, “One of the things I couldn’t help but like about the style of writing was that I couldn’t decipher whether the world we were in was from the past or present, but either way it gave me something new and something to ponder on (though it felt like the past mixed with the present).” I could have never been more right and wrong after reading the second installment to this series. I’m right because even after reading the sequel to Amulet of Elusion, I still feel that I’ve been set in a world that mixes in with the past while being in the present, but now that I’ve read the second book I understand that the setting was always set to be in the past. Either way, I love that I felt we could live in a world of supernatural abilities and magical elements.

Backpedaling to Amulet of Elusion, I never knew what to expect after reading the prologue for Amulet of Power. It was a morsel of information that only eluded in confusing and exciting me. I had no idea what to expect for the second installment, but I knew I had to read it soon. Another part that I managed to focus on while reading this book was how in tune I was with the characters. Once you’ve learned their personalities and attitudes they become like old friends in the following books of the series. I like that I could grow along with them in the first book and regrow with them in the second book in a different way which was nice. Even while both the main characters—Alexa and Caleb—managed to stay somewhat the same, I found their personalities infuriated me at times and still made me love them for who they are. It is terribly hard to explain anything without giving details away, but I will say that things aren’t exactly as they seem once you start the second book and the main plot of this book tests out the characters to see whether the results turn out to be the same even while in different circumstances.

I knew the characters had grown on me once I started feeling anxiety for them in suspenseful situations (there were plenty of moments I was afraid for them). I couldn’t help but fear that their lives were in peril because of Queen Jada and what she had done to all of them. She is a truly corrupted queen and I was glad Alexa grew a backbone once things started getting clearer and clearer as things didn’t add up. I was just glad that Caleb was around, though things were no longer the same as they were in the first story. I also found myself missing Ivy and Novella (both of them are spunky and fun characters). I will say that a new character named Nori makes up for the loss of both these characters.

Once again, the plot of the story seemed very vague during the beginning, but as you kept on reading it was easy to understand that after Amulet of Elusion, when we found out that Alexa feared for the lives of many people from San Lucero and Alvair, she found she only had one choice and that was to give up herself in exchange for making peace with the remaining ruler of Alvair, Queen Jada. What Alexa never realized was that her plans would backfire and Queen Jada would have plans of her own to keep her word but still manage to manipulate Alexa. Time moves on as if nothing occurred and new characters such as Prince Dante, the Queen’s nephew are introduced into the story. One of the things I was proud of the whole time was my distrust of Dante from the first moment he was introduced (there are many reasons to distrust him and you’ll have to find out why). Princess Tiana was actually a pain in the neck and I was glad Alexa never put up with her stints and attitude. Nori is actually Alexa’s maid and it was easy to understand why Alexa trusted in her, she’s a great person for Alexa to talk to and she was a great friend to her as well. The soldiers in the story named Swift, Archer, and Maya are alright. I like that we get to know a little about them throughout the book and through Caleb, but I would have liked to learn more.

Amulet of Power by Katie Lynn Johnson was a masterfully created plot and story that did itself justice and continued the story without any hiccups. The only possibility of anyone being confused was by skipping Amulet of Elusion. The whole plot of the story was intelligently built up and I believe Katie did an amazing job of keeping me on the edge of my seat. By half the book, I had to know what was happening next and could hardly put the book down. I felt consumed by the story and how the climax kept building up to the next great battle (though it surely hasn’t ended yet). By the time I was around the last eight chapters, I felt nervous for all the protagonists because all you want is for them to succeed and escape and live! It was definitely nerve wracking but I loved it! The characters manage to grow on you and make you part of their lives, no matter how crazy that sounds, and you understand them completely and totally. Their emotions are powerful as much as their actions and everything is done for a perfectly good reason. The climax of the story kept me on edge and I’m sure anyone else would feel the same as well. The adventures expanded to feel so much larger it feels as though The South Islands have grown into a real world of its own in our own world. Even if I just finished this book hours ago, I feel that I won’t be able to stop pondering the third and last installment to this series, Amulet of Destiny, and I’m sure this world will only grow more powerful and profound. I’m sure there will be an epic battle with a promising end and I cannot wait to relive in the world of Alexa and Caleb; as of far, a very favorable adventurous couple.

 4.5! Totally Awesome! I loved it, would read again.

Book Reviewer:

Hillary

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Hillary currently lives in Fontana, California and sometimes wishes she lived in a rainier place. When out of her world of fiction and music, college homework becomes part of her focus and so does worrying about exams. She still manages to find plenty of time to read YA books and hopes to have a room full of books like some authors are fortunate to have. Hillary is currently working toward earning a degree in English, but in the meantime she is content to help a very kind book blogger known as Beckie from Bittersweet Enchantment. Hillary hopes to become a well-known author one day, but currently writes small stories whenever she has time.

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