Fearsome fairies, a frantic society, and a fallen oath set the stage in author Peadar O’Guillin’s follow-up novel to The Call, in The Invasion (The Call #2).

Third person narrative brings you back to the characters and the apocalyptic country of Ireland that was so terrifyingly introduced by its predecessor. Anto and Nessa think the worst is behind them, but a paranoid nation on the brink of extinction forces them into separation, as Ireland and the Gray Land come crashing together.

While the first book focused on world-building and making the environment its own character, the second book delves into the individuals themselves, their relationships, and their motives. New situations and new characters liven things up, while the doom of the Sidhi increasingly come to the forefront.

For readers to thoroughly enjoy and understand the dynamics between the humans and the fey creatures, these novels should be read back-to-back, as the second book gives no backstory or explanation to previous events. 

The call may be over, but the race is on, and it’s the survival of the fittest as someone (or something) is going down for the count!

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Scholastic

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  28 Religious exclamations; 3 mild obscenities; 1 derogatory names, 4 scatological words; 2 anatomical terms. Note: Anagram OMG is not tallied.

Violence/Gore:  Many brief (30+) and (about 10) extended scenes of threats, insinuations, and implications of violence; about 15 brief reports of violence; about 10 brief incidents of violence against humans and fantasy creatures, some are frightening/creepy and include injuries; about 14 extended violent scenes, some including blood/gore, and intense violence with injuries and death. 

Sex/Nudity:  A few (less than 10) incidents of romantic notions, flirting, kissing, hand holding; 3 depictions of nudity (non-sexual); 5 sexual references, some referring to teen/adult homosexuality; extended scene about 1 pages, teens make-out, touch/caress each other, implications of sexual intercourse. 

Mature Subject Matter:

 Killing/murdering/death/brutality.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

A few drug and alcohol references; adult drinks.