Title: Eldritch Sparks
Series: Shadows of Otherside #2
Author: Whitney Hill
Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Benu Media
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 173442274

Summary: The deal that secured Arden Finch a measure of freedom came with strings, and now everyone wants to pull them.

Arden has carved out a place for herself in Otherside-at a price. Pressure mounts as she juggles her day job as a private investigator with her new obligations, fraying relationships, and growing elemental powers. If that wasn’t enough, a lich has appeared in the Triangle, sowing violence and raising zombies. Everyone wants Arden to get rid of it⁠, including the gods.

But the lich offers something Arden has always wanted: enough power to stand alone. All she has to do is put herself first for once…and betray everyone she cares about.

Whitney Hill has done it again with Eldritch Sparks. The sequel to my much loved Elemental, Eldritch Sparks drops us back into the Triangle with some dear favorites and some delightfully new characters, a whole bucketful of trouble and plenty of that elemental magic. 

Arden is finally carving out her own place in the Triangle, things are looking good and also really busy. Who knew being the moderator between several different factions of supernatural beings would be so stressful? Don’t worry, she can handle it! Unfortunately, nothing good can ever last for long and before we know it Arden is placed deep in a plot that could upset the treacherous balance of the Triangles inhabitants. With a lich on the loose, a potential vampire uprising and Callista playing who knows what long game, nothing is easy for our beloved air elemental, throw in some emotional turmoil and missing friends and you’ve got a spell for disaster.

Some of our old favorites are back, like Roman our exiled love interest ~swoon~ but also not too much swoon because he infuriates me with a lot of his actions in this book. I won’t go too much into that because I’m honestly getting mad at him again just thinking about it. Then there’s Maria, a personal favorite of mine. (I have a soft spot for vamps and who doesn’t?) I love the dynamic between her and Arden and HOPE we get to see more of it in the next few books as well. There are a few more minor characters from book one that have more of a role in this one and some that were more prominent roles in the first, hardly being here the second go around. Our favorite Darkwatch elf is still coming around guys and I cannot wait to see more of HIM because damn. 

Once again, every character was well thought out, and contributed to the plot in a multitude of ways. There were quite a few feeling changes for me in regards to some of them this go around (no spoilers), but I think they were necessary for Arden to grow and become more true to herself and what she wants!

I absolutely do not want to give too much away (read that synopsis up above!!), but this book was a fast-paced, dynamic read with lots of twists and turns that left you questioning how things were going to play out for Arden a lot of the time. It lived up to its predecessor and then some! I know there’s so much more in store for our elemental and her corner of the world and I cannot wait to see how things play out in the next installment.