Settling by Shelley Workinger (ARC received from author)

Target Audience: Teens/Young Adults
Genre: Sci-fi/Fantasy/Romance

After reading Solid I eagerly anticipated the release of Settling so when I was asked to review it by Shelley I jumped at the chance, especially after the dramatic ending to Solid.
Needless to say I was not disappointed and it more than lived up to it's predecessor, if anything it was even better :-)

Settling continues where Solid left off. The students at the camp are still left reeling from the betrayal they suffered in the first book but are bravely trying to get on with things while trying to discover what the effects are of the experiments that were done to them as well as taking on summer jobs around the army camp (some of which were pretty awesome).
The peace is soon shattered as strange events once again occurring and a new threat emerges that throws everything out of balance, and Clio and her friends are once again in danger, but the question is; from who?

I loved this book from beginning to end and, unlike a lot of sci-fi, this book manages to keep the kids in a sense of reality. If there's one thing that I find truly intriguing it's that midst all the amazing abilities and extraordinary events, these kids are still talking about their favourite bands, falling in love and celebrating July 4th like everyone else in America.  The contrast between the the surreal and the real is truly amazing!
In relation to this, the realism of the characters is exceptional and no character is perfect. In this novel cracks emerge and I got to see different sides to characters that I thought I knew pretty well with hilarious and sometimes sad consequences.

If I'm honest, Clio was definitely the one to stun me in this novel and I felt horrible for her at the end (I can't post anymore without spoiling anything, so just read it!). I will say that I am thoroughly annoyed at the harshness and judgmental attitudes of some of the other characters, and I found myself thinking about an old proverb about sins and casting stones.
The characters, in general though were very captivating. Bliss was her usual flighty self, Jack was very cute and loving, Miranda her usual, unusual self and Gareth was just funny. Also we have some new characters and greater focus on some older unvisited characters which, all in all, leads to a wonderfully diverse and interesting bunch!

I can't say what perhaps was the most interesting part because it will spoil the plot, but I will say that things get complicated for Clio, very complicated! There are some incredible revelations regarding the abilities and experiments that were done and I can't wait to find out more so at this moment I am dying to read Sound. I need to know what happens next!
Anyway, this is an exceptional work or sci-fi, romance, mystery and murder and it is not to be missed. If you haven't read Solid, please go and do so and then read this because your missing out!



Also, for those who aren't aware, I am also participating in Shelley's blog tour and I will be posting an interview with her on the 21st June, please check it out!

Solid is available from Amazon now: Solid Kindle Edition or in the USA Solid Kindle Edition (USA)
Settling will be available from July 4th 2011