Whisked from their lives into a quest to save the world of Anelthalien, Kindle, Ella, Andrew, and Tad have been hanging on to their mission—and each other—by a thread. Hunted by cloaked monsters, haunted by doubts, and pitted against the earth itself, suspicions are creeping among them. Can they trust the makers whose enchanted necklaces they wear? Can they even trust each other?
One thing is certain: Anelthalien's fracturing heroes must remember who and what to trust before Anelthalien's hope fractures with them.
I've had the privilege of being part of Earth Quaking's launch crew over the past year, and finally being able to devour this imaginative story from cover to cover has been so rewarding! As the second book in the Anelthalien series, Earth Quaking boasts more ensemble drama, more action, more intrigue, and an exciting glimpse into so much more of this creative and unpredictable fantasy world. Pruitt's four heroes have no all-wise mentor to guide them now—they're on their own in a strange world with nothing to hold on to but each other and the promise of the makers whose necklaces they wear. This is where the real test begins.
Like its precursor, Earth Quaking has a certain addictive magic—more so, since Pruitt ups her intrigue game in this sequel. She dangled a carrot in front of me with glimpses of a plot that is vaster and more complex than foreseen in book one with answers just out of reach. Character conflict is still very prevalent (these teens do not gel easily). That aspect did feel quite repetitive—the same team argument or one-on-one dialogue seemed to recur on a loop—but real relationship progress is made by the novel's end.
Content Notes: the novel is imaginative, meaningful, and clean! Huzzah!
Above all, this novel addresses the very real and very relatable struggle to cling to faith in the times when God's voice is difficult to hear. Pruitt's characters must now stand on their own feet, mentorless: when hope seems lost, they struggle to believe that their makers are still with them, or that anything they're trying to accomplish is as important as it once seemed. It's such an incredibly relatable battle. I've been there myself; so, I'm sure, have you. But as Pruitt deftly and poignantly asserts, God speaks differently to all of us, and not one of His "voices" is more valid than another. He knows precisely what each and every one of us needs to hear and He reminds us where to put our faith when we can't see the why or the how.
To conclude, Earth Quaking is a deliciously exciting, mysterious, and inspiring read—well worth the wait!
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