OTHERMOON by Nina Berry

Othermoon
Nina Berry

Rating: C-
Release Date: 01/29/13
Synopsis:Everyone has secrets. I had no idea mine would lead me into shadow. Dez has found the place where she belongs. With the otherkin. With Caleb. Or so she thought. As the barriers between our world and Othersphere fall, a wall rises between Dez and Caleb, leaving her fiercest enemy her only friend. 

And maybe something more. 

Now Dez must make a devastating choice: keep the love of her life, or save the otherkin from annihilation.

My thoughts on the book:
Berry seems to be a victim of the sophomore curse. Othermoon fell flat for me in many areas. While this book had a lot of potential, most of that potential was not realized. Berry had the opportunity to carry on the amazing story she wrote with Otherkin, and it seemed as if she attempted to. However, this effort was not nearly as good as the first novel. 

The character development in this story was non-existent. Sure, we learned more things about Dez throughout the course of this book, including where she came from, but Dez, herself, did not grow or change at all. An outward change forced on a character does not change who or what the character is. Dez was the exact same person at the end of the novel that she was in the beginning. Likewise, while other characters confessed things randomly, and in unnatural ways, their inherent personalities remained the same. No one gained strength or showed any improvement or growth, other than Lazar and Caleb. I loved Lazar in this book, and I am interested to learn more about him. Caleb turned into an abusive, creepy jerk, but the rest of the characters pretty much remained the same. 

The plot was very clearly manipulated by Berry. Nothing happened naturally. Every single occurrence seemed forced, and it was obvious that the author was manipulating the story line in order to achieve the desired outcome. This made the entire book seem unrealistic. Therefore, I was unable to read this novel with a willing suspension of disbelief because nothing seemed natural. Odd character behaviors came out of nowhere without warning, and a lot of what the characters said didn't make sense. Furthermore, every event was so orchestrated and coincidental that I couldn't possibly buy into what Berry was selling. 

Overall, I'd only recommend this book to you if you read the first novel in the series. The concept is still intriguing, and I will give the third book a chance, but right now I am not impressed with this series. The first book was amazing, and that caused me to have high hopes for the sequel. Unfortunately, Othermoon did not live up to those expectations. Here's hoping book three will be better. 

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