The Gates (The Resistance Trilogy, #2) [Kindle Edition]

Sometimes trilogies suffer from second book syndrome, you know what I mean? Brilliant first book, highly anticipated second book that ends up being a little big of a let down. Well never fear, Rachael Wade's second book in The Resistance Trilogy is smokin' hott (yes, with a double T ).Wade never fails to amaze me, with the storyline hotting up, relationships sizzling and some fabulous world building going on, you will not be disappointed with this amazing second instalment.

Camille Hart now has the knowledge about what her boyfriend and his friends truly are and that hasn't frightened her off. Returning from Amaranth the plans swing into motion, to return to Amaranth under the pretence that Gavin will do as commanded and return to exile to do Samira's bidding, whipping the people back into submission, all the while earning Samira's trust.

Meanwhile the rest of the resistance will be preparing themselves to enter Amaranth on the next Crescent moon, to overpower Samira, ultimately getting their curses lifted and being free.

But as you can imagine, things never run smoothly. Scarlet, someone who was trusted and travelled to Amaranth as part of the Resistance, puts a spanner in the works. She gets wind of the Resistance's secret weapon 'Arianna' (Samira's daughter) and starts blackmailing Gavin to get what she wants, which is Gavin himself. Much to poor Camille's heartbreak, Gavin has to comply or risk the whole operation.

There are tons of twists and turns throughout the book and the last section is one big shocker. I absolutely cannot wait to see what Rachael Wade has in store for us in the final instalment. Bring on 'The Tragedy of Knowledge.' I highly recommend The Resistance Trilogy, if you haven't yet picked up the first 'Amaranth' then what are you waiting for? :)

My favourite characters:

Scarlet: I always love a villain and Scarlet is definitely one of those. She is warped, twisted, venomous and will use all the pawns at her disposal to get exactly what she wants. She is an ' IT ' girl and to be honest I would love to throttle her myself, what more could you ask for in a villain?

Gavin: I think Gavin really developed and came into his own in this book. We got to see a deliciously dark and seductive side to him, that I would really like to see more of (Hint Hint, Rachael LOL ) : D

Just some thoughts on the cover:

I always love the covers of Rachael Wade's books and once you read one you will see why. On the covers are always something significant in the book, like the first book: was the entrance to Amaranth, in all it's beautiful detail. The second book: Is Camille disguised in her cloak and the windmill hide away where she meets with Gavin in secret.

Review 7 out of 5

This is the second book in the series by Rachael Wade and is just as fantastic as it's predecessor, if not more so!
Rachael Wade is a relative newcomer to the literary world, but her creativity and prose has captured my imagination, and I was extremely excited when this book was released!
The story continues with Gavin, Camille and their friends planning the downfall of Samira, the mother of all vampires, and freedom for all the people trapped behind the gates in Amaranth.
I love all the characters, and they seem to come alive with Rachael's words. Gavin and Camille are still very much in love. I'm still reeling from the loss of Joel from the previous book. However, there are some old faces and some new ones too. I can say that I have taken a dislike to Scarlet, but I will leave it to you to find out why. There is plenty of action and some steamy scenes that scorch the page (which is in not too explicit), but kept me turning the pages. There is betrayal, and secrets are revealed (but not too many!). I'm now waiting impatiently for the final book in the trilogy. Rachael Wade has become one of my favourite authors and I will definitely be getting more of her books in the future. I highly recommend this book, and series, if you love a fantastic tale full of vampires, action and adventure.

Now folks I know that some of you may have read my mini-review back in February when I finished the book. But I also know that there will be those that didn't. So if you are one of the ones that did, please bear with me if I seem to be going over the same things as I did back then.

Firstly, my cover-art magpie side tells me to address the cover for THE GATES. So, let's get to it.
The cover for this is slightly darker than that of AMARANTH. This has a less ethereal quality to it than Amaranth did. It's slightly more edgy.
I didn't understand the symbolism of either cover at first. It wasn't until I read the stroies I understood their covers. So for me, having read this, I now look at the cover with fresh eyes. It really appeals to me and I love the things that were chosen to depict this great story.

"She's gone on long enough about the cover" I hear you shout. Okay, I will get on with my review.

As with the cover, the story itself was slightly darker this time. Though just as alluring as Amaranth was.
It was an action packed story that had me on the edge of my seat and staying awake late at night just because I was so captivated and couldn't stop turning the pages.
THE GATES has a mixture of love, happiness and joy, sadness, loss and sorrow. For me, it is the perfect amount of all of those things. It's not too 'fairy-tale love, fingers down throat etc'. But it's also not too much the other way either.

I love the whole Gavin and Camille relationship. They have a love that transcends everything. They may not have been together long but they are strong and battle ready. Which really is a good thing when you add the nasty little wretch Scarlet into the mix. I can't tell you who she is, or why I hate her. All I can say is well done Rachael. I hated Scarlet. I think she was added in like putting a cat amongst the pigeons. You'll never achieve a sense of equilibrium with Scarlet around. She was a minx and I despise her, but she was written well and the character fitted perfectly within he story. I hope we see more of her, but I also hope that one day Cam gets to tear her limb from limb. That would be a sight to behold! (hint hint Rach)

Her Majesty, Samira, is just as evil as she ever was. If not worse. We get to find out a secret she has kept from Gavin for many years. It reminded me just what a horrible woman she is. She brings a whole new meaning to the term cold-hearted *****!

The main bright points for me were the times when Gav and Cam were able to be alone and show each other that throughout anything and everything, their love can remain strong. It brings a new meaning to the phrase "Love Conquers All".

This book is action packed. Full of twists and turns that shock not only the characters but the reader too. The tear flowed for me at just past the halfway point. I swore I would not cry but my eyes betrayed me.
The phrase "It never rains, but it pours" springs to mind. There was never just one thing to get over, instead there were almost too many. I didn't think my heart could take any more of a beating. But just when I thought it couldn't take any more, the story was over and I was going to be okay after all.
I stayed up late into the night to finish this and found myself shattered and owed a big long sleep. I just couldn't put it down. Even when I knew I was tired and must go to bed, I still pushed myself beyond that. Such is my dedication to a good book? Yes. But also, such is my impatience to know what happened next!

I won't tell you more as I find my fingers are itching to run away with me and become too 'spoilery' and I know you would never forgive me for ruining it for you. All I can say is, I am really very happy that Rachael gave me an ARC. I am forever grateful to her. However, the one downside of having a book so early before its release, I will have to wait even linger for the next one!

I cannot wait for The Tragedy of Knowledge (book #3). Knowing Rachael, she will make it one hell of a kicker so that the trilogy goes out with a BANG!!