Book Review: The Flame Never Dies by Rachel Vincent

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The Flame Never Dies
The Stars Never Rise #2

Author: Rachel Vincent
Reading Level: Young adult
Genre: Paranormal | Demons | Dystopia
Released: 16th August 2016
Review Source: Publisher

For fans of Cassandra Clare and Richelle Mead comes the unputdownable sequel to The Stars Never Rise, a book Rachel Caine, author of the bestselling Morganville Vampires series, called “haunting, unsettling, and eerily beautiful.”

ONE SPARK WILL RISE. Nina Kane was born to be an exorcist. And since uncovering the horrifying truth—that the war against demons is far from over—seventeen-year-old Nina and her pregnant younger sister, Mellie, have been on the run, incinerating the remains of the demon horde as they go.

In the badlands, Nina, Mellie, and Finn, the fugitive and rogue exorcist who saved her life, find allies in a group of freedom fighters. They also face a new threat: Pandemonia, a city full of demons. But this fresh new hell is the least of Nina’s worries. The well of souls ran dry more than a century ago, drained by the demons secretly living among humans, and without a donor soul, Mellie’s child will die within hours of its birth.

Nina isn’t about to let that happen . . . even if it means she has to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Rachel Vincent: the author who will end books, series and situations in a place of unexpected. It will shock you, leave you wanting more and consume your thoughts.

The Flame Never Dies is the second and final installment of the duology. It continues with Nina, her pregnant sister, and their group of exorcists who are still on the run. They managed to escape the clutches of the Church but with the rising threat of Pandemonia and it's evil ruler Kastor, the gang have aquired quite the list of enemies.

This installment felt a little less about Nina and her discovering a word she thought she knew, but more as the group as a whole. In this book, the need to keep Mellie and her unborn child safe is a main focal point.

"If I can't find a soul for my sister's baby, I will damn well give that kid my own."

 
I almost expected for that to happen. The world they live in is daunting, seems unbeatable. It's not a happy place or a nice place. For somebody to live another has to die. The urge to keep her family and friends safe is scary and despite her character growth it made her reckess. Fighting against time to find a soul for her neice or nephew she grows desperate, needing the danger away from them for the baby's sake. Instead, Finn is faced with some harsh truths of his history, Nina has a face-to-face with Kastor and Nina has to make one of the hardest decisions of her life.

The Flame Never Dies ended with a very open ending and it was completely painful. But you know what? It still kicked ass. It was kind of perfect. The author leads her readers to plans of what they want to happen but there's still a lot of room for imagination, and with the ending--anything can happen. We don't know what happened after Adam was dropped off at the children's home. We don't know if Nina and friends survive. Did they manage to conquer? We dont know any of it. That's the hardest part.