Animus (The Flammark Series Book 2) - P. J. Mordant

 

It’s midsummer. Months after Emma vanquished the Blackstone curse, she still hasn’t decided where her future lies …

… or whether she wants Westen to be part of it.

And what about the earth tremor that came from Seely Tor?

Something is not right in the under-Flammark, something that’s about to arrive which is far deadlier than the spirit she and her friends battled last year.

And one of them has changed …

What did I think?

I simply could not wait to visit Flammark again after reading When Angels Fear so I was delighted to get my hands on a copy of the sequel, Animus.  As it says on the cover, this is a supernatural thriller so prepare yourself for a stupendous battle of good versus evil.  Just reading the opening lines gave me chills and it gets darker and chillier after that!

You do need to have read the first book in the series to fully enjoy Animus as I think any new readers could be completely lost.  Luckily for me, the characters had remained firmly in my head and I welcomed them like old friends.  Which is why my heart went out to them as it becomes apparent that events in When Angels Fear irrevocably changed them.  If they thought that was bad, they are about to experience something so much worse.

Chilling doesn't even come close to describing Animus, it's so dark and disturbing but I couldn't tear my eyes away from the page.  I love reading the product of Polly J. Mordant's vivid imagination and thank god it is fiction!  It really does remind me of the TV show Supernatural but it goes the extra mile by giving the characters real life issues whilst they are fighting evil.

Brilliantly written, hugely imaginative and very entertaining, Animus is a superbly dark and chilling supernatural thriller.  It's a wonderful continuation of the Flammark series and highly recommend, as long as you've read book one.

I chose to read a digital ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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When Angels Fear (The Flammark Series Book 1) - Polly J. Mordant

 

She runs from a terrifying past, to a village with problems of its own

 

Exhausted, desperately seeking sanctuary, Emma arrives at the pretty English village of Flammark. 

But she cannot rest. A strange sleeping sickness stalks the village and a young woman has disappeared.

Why won't the police investigate?

As events unfold, Emma becomes embattled yet again, compelled to fight for her life against a deadly curse linked to an ancestry about which she had no knowledge.

She is the only one able to vanquish the evil, but doing so will entail confronting an horrific and all-too-familiar enemy.

The question is, will she be strong enough?

What did I think?

Wow!  This book is completely awesome!  I honestly couldn't put it down and would have read it all in one day if my eyes hadn't decided it was time to sleep and I wanted my full wits about me as the electrifying conclusion approached.  Described as a supernatural thriller, it really only dips its toe into the fantasy genre so it will definitely appeal to readers who enjoy thrillers and police procedurals.  It's an absolute must read for anyone who watches (or watched when it was good) the TV show Supernatural.

Emma is escaping an abusive relationship and drops a pin in the map which directs her to the quaint little village of Flammark.  Emma arrives in Flammark at a turbulent time as the villagers are devastated when one of their own goes missing.  Not only that, the church is getting emptier and the doctor's surgery is a ghost town as one by one the villagers succumb to a mystery illness.  Something dark is coming to Flammark and it wants Emma...

I really can't begin to describe how good this book is; it's just absolutely fantastic.  Intriguing and gripping from the start, creepy in the middle and sensational at the end.  It has to be one of the most addictive books I have ever read and it completely possessed me to the point where I couldn't put it down.  P. J. Mordant's writing is so very descriptive, both in the painting of scenes and exploration of feelings.  I had a very clear picture of Flammark in my head and I certainly felt the fear!

There are some outstanding characters in the novel and some are not who they first appear to be.  I really should have connected the dots on this one but it came as a complete surprise to me!  I'm not saying what, as it will spoil the story, but it was very nicely done and I loved this element of the story.  I also loved Emma's mysterious ancestry that added an extra layer to the storyline.  I just loved everything about this book and I'm absolutely thrilled that it's the first in a series; I'm really looking forward to visiting Flammark again.

An outstanding debut novel from P. J. Mordant, When Angels Fear is simply exceptional.  I really can't recommend it highly enough; it's one of my favourite books of the year and fully deserves 5 stars and more.

I can't thank P. J. Mordant enough for sending me an ARC to read and review; all opinions are my own.

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