The Invasion by Peadar O'Guilin

The Grey Land Book 2. David Fickling Books, 2018. ISBN 9781910989647
(Age: Young Adult) Recommended. In this world, teenagers are trained for the most horrible three seconds of their lives, the Call. When Called you must survive three minutes in the Sidhe's territory, the enemy of Ireland. Beautiful and distorted beings capable of molding you into whatever they so desire, so don't get caught. They all come back from the Call of course, but not always alive or in the same physical state they left in. And there is one rule you must always remember, don't make a deal with the enemy. Or you are a traitor to the Nation. After they thought the danger was over, Nessa and Anto thought they would finally be able to live a happy and quiet life. But with the Side invasion becoming more and more prominent, the government starts tracking down suspected traitors to the Nation. Nessa is one of them. Nessa and Anto are denied their happy reunion, and the only thing keeping them going is the thought of seeing each other again. Nessa must fight against being branded as a traitor and survive while trying to stop the invasion of Ireland. While Anto is shipped off to join a militia made to stop the magic of the Sidhe from spreading.
Will Nessa be able to survive long enough to see Anto again, and will Anto be able to find her?
This story is a compelling sequel to the first book in this series The Call. In the first few chapters it does well to recap the story so far and set up the events that will follow. Each chapter is also split into three character's perspectives, which made the flow of the story suspenseful and engaging. The world that Peadar has created is a modern-day Ireland being attacked by the Sidhe enemy. And the interactions between the real world and the Sidhe are action packed and fast paced. There was never a dull moment, and it kept me on my feet the whole time trying to guess what's going to happen next.
I would recommend this to young adults readers and above.
Kayla Raphael