Lisa Reviews" Julie Cross's - "Vortex"
Have you ever read a book and loved it so much, that you wanted to read the next in the series before you’ve even finished the one you just fell in love with? This has never happened to me, until I was smack dab in the middle of listening to Tempest by Julie Cross. Before I was on the last CD of the set, I couldn’t get enough of the characters, the time travelling, the twists, the turns, and of Jackson’s relationship with Holly!
Once Vortex came out, I knew I had to get it on audio (I really liked the way it was read, making Vortex THAT much more AWESOME!) While I wasn’t too amazed by the cover picture I was extremely excited about the story inside of it; who cares about the cover, when the story kicks butt?
When I finally had the first CD in hand, and was waiting for my computer to boot up so I could jam in the disc and finally start listening, I had two enormous fears. First, that this book included more information dumping (I was already having a hard time keeping up with all the different time travelling, worlds and other technicalities in order in Tempest). Second, that it would suffer from middle book syndrome. I loved Tempest, and my heart would have been shattered to millions of pieces if I was lost throughout Vortex, or if it was just a stepping stone to the next book.
Because there is so much going on and so many twist, turns, secrets and just really good freakin’ parts, I’m honestly scared to summarize the story and end up giving too much away. I would rather talk about my thoughts on the book, instead of what happened inside of the book. Especially with all the information this book contains, I don’t think my summary would make very much sense anyway.
While Vortex did still have a lot of information dumping occurring, it wasn’t as tough to keep up with it all, like it was in Tempest. I feel that Cross did a much better job, stretching and spreading it out instead of throwing it at the reader all at once.
My favourite aspect of the second instalment is the character development! I loved all of the characters in the first book, and enjoyed them more in Vortex. Jackson isn’t the same boy that the reader was introduced to in the last book. He showed his strong love for Holly, his need for his family (especially his mother and sister), and that he stepped up to the plate by becoming an agent.
The reader is exposed to a completely different side of Holly. While we do still see the girl Jackson fell in love with, we also see a badass angle of her! New characters are also introduced, for example two spies named Kendrick and Stuart, who are strong female characters (LOVE!). The only character I missed was Adam, Jackson’s best friend; he didn’t make too many appearances in Vortex.
The ending was something I didn’t expect. I had to pick up my jaw from the floor, wipe my sweaty hands on my pants, and remember to breath. Vortex leaves off with a cliff hanger that does nothing but force you to go to the store and buy the third book once it comes out!
I had so much fun reading Vortex, and it was even better than Tempest; I know that’s really hard to believe!
