Wildcat Fireflies by Amber Kizer

Wildcat Fireflies is the much anticipated sequel to Meridian by Amber Kizer. I absolutely fell in love with Meridian when I first started by blog. You can check out the archives for a review of Meridian. I was so excited when I saw that the next installment in the series was coming out this summer. Here’s the summary from Amazon.com:

Meridian Sozu is a Fenestra—the half-human, half-angel link between the living and the dead. She has the dark responsibility of helping souls transition safely into the afterlife. If people die without the help of a Fenestra, their souls are left vulnerable to be stolen by the Aternocti, a dark band of forces who disrupt the balance of good and evil in the world and cause chaos.

Having recently lost her beloved Auntie—the woman who showed her what it meant to be a Fenestra—Meridian has hit the road with Tens, her love and sworn protector, in hopes of finding another Fenestra. Their search leads them to Indiana, where Juliet, a responsible and loving teenager, works tirelessly in the nursing home where she and several other foster kids are housed. Surrounded by death, Juliet struggles to make a loving home for the younger kids, and to protect them from the violent whims of their foster mother. But she is struggling against forces she can't understand . . . and even as she feels a pull toward the dying, their sickness seems to infect her, weighing her down. . . .

Will Meri and Tens find Juliet in time to save her from a life of misery and illness? And will Meri and Tens' own romance weather the storms of new discoveries?

I have mixed feelings about this book. I loved all of Meridian but did not quite feel the same about the latest installment. It was weird at first because I couldn’t put my finger on what exactly was out of place for me in the story. The characters were the same and the writing is the same however it just didn’t hold my interest as much as the first book. After rereading the book, I really think it was because I couldn’t get into Juliet’s story. I really enjoyed any parts that related to Meridian and Tens but had a lot of trouble getting through the parts related to Juliet. I found it hard to relate to her situation and then trying to puzzle through what was going on in the situation also took away some of my interest.

On the other hand, I couldn’t get enough of Meridian and Tens. They grow quite a bit in this story as a Protector and Fenestra and as a couple. They also mature as they are now on their own. I still feel like we don’t really know anything about Tens because his character is so guarded. While we get some insight to what’s inside of his head we don’t fully see “what makes him tick.” I am hoping to get to know more later on in the series.

We are also left wondering about the relationship between a Fenestra and her Protector. I am really curious to  learn what role the Protector plays. So far we haven’t seen Tens do much other than anticipate Meridian. I am wondering what he could do against a Aternocti. I am thinking that as a Protector he likely has a role against them.

New characters are introduced to the story that are fun and make things interesting. I am hoping Meridian and Tens stay in the same area so we can see how the new characters will play into the story.

Overall, I give the book a 4/5. After reading it the second time I was able to get through more of Juliet’s story and appreciate the addition to the series. Meridian is searching for Fenestras so of course new characters have to be introduced. I am just a little more excited to see how the rest of Meridian and Tens story continues.