Review: Taking Back Forever by Karen Amanda Hooper

Title: Taking Back Forever (The Kindrily #2)
Author: Karen Amanda Hooper
Publication:  May 31st 2013 by Starry Sky Publishing
Genre: YA Paranormal
Source: Provided by the kind publisher..
Gooreads

*Recommended for ages 15 and older due to mature content.* 

Forever is worth the fight.

Maryah erased all memory of her past lives, but she couldn’t erase her soul mate Nathan, or his undying love. Now, Maryah and Nathan have a second chance at a future together, but first Maryah must remember the person she used to be and embrace her supernatural gifts—more than one kindrily member’s life depends on it.

Maryah’s power is Harmony’s best hope of finding her kidnapped soul mate, Gregory. But Harmony isn’t big on asking anyone for help, and she’s tired of waiting, so she’s taking matters into her own hands. Heaven help anyone who stands in her way.

-- My Rating --

4/5 Oscars: Really liked it...

-- My Thoughts --

     I read the first book in the series just by pure luck. And I liked it a lot. It left me anxious to read the second book, so when I had the chance to read this, I jumped at it. And it was not disappointing at all
No spoilers included...
     Maryah erased a lifetime ago. But she and her soul mate, Nathan, were able to find each other again. Everyone is in need of something from her. Can she fulfill all their expectations? Now, Maryah has to master her abilities to help her kindrily survive, once and for all.
The things I liked:
1- The cover. What I love most about the covers in this series is that they are so exceptionally crafted that they are directly related to what happens in the book. I loved both of them.
2- The characters. Maryah develops a lot throughout this book. She turns from this insecure little girl into a mature, hard-core woman. You can feel the needs and the desires of each character in the book which makes you connect with them on many different levels
3- The POVs. Karen A. Hooper did the POVs in this book a little differently. The first book was a first-person account by Maryah, which made me connect to her a lot and fall in love with her all together. But this book had two POVs, one of Maryah and one of Harmony. I never really liked Harmony before, but in this book, I connected with her and I grew to like her a lot.
4- The plot. It was fast moving most of the time.
5- The romance. I will give an A+ for the romance. The interactions between Maryah and Nathan were snarky, funny, romantic and oh-so-steamy. I didn't know Karen Amanda Hooper was such a fabulous writer of romantic scenes. But oh, she is, and they got my insides all tingly.
What I didn't like:
1- The only character development that I really noticed was that of Maryah. She developed a lot throughout the book. But the other characters were lacking in the development field. I never really noticed any of them change at all. But it wasn't such a big issue.
2- The plot. In the middle of the book, I felt like the book slowed down. Actually, it dragged a little at times. But this issue was passable, too. Some times, I felt like nothing of importance actually happened in this book at all. It was all a main focus on Maryah and her issues. Nothing really MAJOR actually happened.


I am not a huge fan of cliffhangers, so I appreciated it that Karen A. Hooper wrote a little not at the end. It's like "If you don't want a cliffhanger, don't continue any more. If you want a different end with a cliffhanger, then continue" I didn't really want to continue but I couldn't stop myself. So, I read the end with the cliffhanger and it has me REELING and SO ANXIOUS to read the third book. I WANT to know what happens right about NOW.