Children Of The Earth (End Times)

Some sequels have a hard time living up to the first book in the series. I hate if after a year or so of reading the first book in the series, 'I forget' what happened. This doesn't happen in CHILDREN OF THE EARTH. The author does a great job weaving in what happened in the last book to help re anchor readers and then the story goes right off.

What worked: I totally loved the first book END TIMES which introduced readers to a very unlikely 'prophet'. Daphne had left her home in Detroit after being acquitted of killing her stepfather and goes to Wyoming where she's able to connect with an uncle and aunt. The trials of Daphne and her love of Owen are picked up in this second book.

Daphne continues to have visions of why Owen is 'wrong' for her and might in fact be a demon that is out to destroy not only the small community of Carbon County but her as well. The conflict she feels to being true to her uncle, aunt, and community are often at odds with her growing love for Owen. Most of the town still blame Owen for a couple deaths and want him to leave.

But that's not the only thing Daphne has to deal with. Her struggles with feeling unworthy of all the attention of being called a prophet by a pastor who says her visions will usher in the Rapture. I liked how the author shows Daphne's mixed feelings of her so-called calling and a vision that paints Owen as a demon that must be avoided.

Owen also fights against his own so-called calling of being one of the Children of The Earth, that need all thirteen to find the 'vein' and call on their God to seek vengeance against the greed of man and the oil being pumped out of the town.

The Children of Earth, with all their bohemian life styles have a dark secret that involves Owen's sister Luna. In END TIMES readers only got a glimpse of her but in this book her real motivates are shown in horrific details. More damage and chaos follow in her trail.

I did feel that Owen's struggles, though shown in some detail, weren't as involved as Daphne's. It seemed he fell under the spell of Luna too easy. The climax of this novel though does show Owen stepping up and facing his destiny. This is shown in vivid and horrific detail.

Satisfying conclusion to END TIMES, this novel shows Daphne having to face her worse fear in order to save not only herself but Carbon County. Intense emotional roller coaster ride through one's vision of what the end might involve to a forbidden love that has painful consequences.