Winter's light by M.J. Hearle

Winter Saga, book 2. Pan Macmillan, 2012. 9781742611037.
(Age: 15+) Paranormal. Blake has sacrificed himself to save Winter. He has gone and she is left alone. Hunted by the Demori she has to fight for her survival. She is haunted by nightmares of Blake and the Deadlands. After two Demori viciously attack her, she makes an uneasy alliance with Sam, one of the Bane. Together they travel to the Bane's stronghold seeking out the solution to the mystery of the Deadlands.
When I received this book to review I immediately bought the first in the series, Winter's shadow and read it very quickly as I loved Winter's character, her angst over her relationship with Blake and the action packed suspense. I was able to continue on with the second in the series without the usual wait of a year or so and this increased my enjoyment of the books.
Hearle's world building makes this series stand out. He is able to describe the everyday life of an orphan and her relationship with her sister and best friend, while at the same time bring in a paranormal world that seems equally real and quite different to many of the series that abound at the moment. Winter's strength and belief in herself grows during the second book. Left alone she must take action and think for herself. With Blake gone, the romance of course plays a minor role, while the action and suspense builds into a crescendo that was very enjoyable. There are enough hints that Blake may be somewhere to keep the ardent romance fans happy and looking forward to the next book in the series. The cliffhanger at the end will also help to get fans hooked into picking it up.
Winter's light is an entertaining paranormal that fans of the first book will surely enjoy. A book trailer is available .
Pat Pledger