Review – A Gathering of Gargoyles (Darkangel, Book 2) by Meredith Ann Pierce (4/5 stars)

This is the second book in the DarkAngel trilogy.   If you liked the first book you will like this book.  More happens in this book and it is just as creative as the first one. You definitely need to read the first book before reading this book though.

In this book Aeriel is living in the palace with her Prince, Irrylath and his family; the problem is Irrylath cannot stand to be around Aeriel because he is forced to be in love with the evil water witch.  When the second part of the rime/prophecy is revealed to Ariel she is forced to go on a journey to make sure the prophecy will be fulfilled and to save Irrylath from the water witch.

The tone of this book is similar to the first book.  Aeriel very much goes with the flow.  She is an interesting character in that she does not seek out action, the action comes to her.  Yet, she shows admirable strength in dealing with whatever hand is dealt to her.  This book is a bit more of an adventure/quest than the first one was.  Aeriel does a bit less waiting around; but there is some inconsistent pacing.  Again Pierce has Aeriel go through a lot of action, then times passes as Aeriel waits, then action, then more waiting.

The storyline is very fairy-tale-like and very creative.  The writing is beautiful and descriptive; at times you feel as if you are floating through the story.  It was a beautiful book and a great continuation of this story.  While the main story point was resolved, the major storyline remains to be resolved in the third book.  I am looking forward to reading the third book as soon as I can.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– The Young Adult Reading Challenge
– The 100+ Book Reading Challenge