The Springsweet

This is the sequel to, The Vespertine.  I've decided this is my new favorite series of the year.  A third book comes out next year.  

Zora moves to the prairie to live with an aunt after running from her old life.  She quickly learns that she has a gift for sighting water.  Soon is she is being hired out to help people find places to dig their wells.  She also meets a mysterious man with a power of his own.

Saundra Mitchell is a genius with words--she never uses too many or too few.  My only criticism is that Zora's voice seems too much like Amelia's (the main character of the first book).

Rating: A+

The Vespertine

This is a creepy, romance, Gothic-themed, Victorian-style book.  I loved it!  Amazingly written.  Amelia goes to stay with her cousin and get out in society.  She soon realizes that she can see into the future and girls start requesting her to tell their fortunes.  Amelia meets Nathanial, a handsome but poor artist who mysteriously appears whenever she calls to him. Love. Love.

Reviews are saying that it's hard to follow the time changes but really you just have to read the cover pages and you'll be fine (a truly good book makes you work a little!).

I love that Saundra Mitchell does not over-use phrases like a lot of Victorian-era authors do.  She also doesn't spell everything out, which I love.  Try it--let me know what you think (and if you want more--there are two more books in the series).

Rating: A