“For me personally, the truth is that I don’t,’ he admitted in a thick, low voice. ‘I don’t rage about it every minute of the day, but sometimes, yeah, I still get angry about it. And if I let myself dwell on all the things that were taken from me, all the moments lost, I can be really angry for…for a while. But then I try to remind myself of the stuff I do have and then focus on all the things I want to do. I can be sad and mourn the past, but I can’t live there, and most importantly, I don’t want to.”
Ulla and Pan have a connection having both bonded over their half-breed status, but this is real talk and I loved the amount of development between these two that happened in this sequel. At the end of The Lost City, they were going for a road trip to find answers about Ulla’s heritage and he’s insistent on staying by her side (and this was throughout the entire book, he never wavered). Despite not becoming an item in this novel, they still shared many scenes and I hope to see more of his history come into play in the third novel because he’s a royal and I see many possibilities there.
“You always gotta make me say how I think you’re funny and smart and beautiful. Who else would I be talking about?”
Don’t flirt like that only to hold off at every turn! Way more flirting between these two took place in this book, so even though it was still a slow burn and lacked much progression in relationship status, feelings were expressed and steamy scenes did ensue. They were just cut short and self-sabotaged by the MC claiming bad timing and the arrival of Pan’s ex-girlfriend didn’t help matters either. However, it did add a note of jealously which pushed things to develop, unfortunately they kept self-sabotaging each other that lead to no real development in their relationship despite their obvious attraction but here’s to hoping it will in book 3!
“I’d begun to realize that Pan had this way about him, a soothing baritone, somehow strong and light all at once, and a calming presence. It was hard not to feel like everything was going to be okay when you were around him…even if it wasn’t.”
This is a great point to showcase because it sums up Pan’s aura completely. He does seem to do exactly this. This isn’t a typical quality in a YA love interest and usually I’m drawn to those typical arrogant, cocky sometimes broody types but for some reason I was drawn to Pan like Ulla is. There is a calming tone with him that does make it feel like everything’s going to be okay. Cheesy I know, but 100% true. He’s always willing to go with Ulla despite the obviously dangerous situations they get into and he’s more intelligence than might. So he’s out of his element yet he goes because Ulla goes. It’s adorably stupid yet admirable at the same time. Let’s not forget how adorable he is with his dog, Brueger!
“I freshened up, and I when I turned the tap off, I could hear him through the door, talking on the phone first to Dagny—in his normal voice, thanking her again—then to Brueger, in a slightly higher-pitched, excitable tone, asking him if he’s a good boy. I put a hand over my mouth to silence my giggle, but I won’t lie that it made me feel like taffy left in the sun all day—so warm and gooey and strangely pleasant.”
This is one of those moments you see in a movie where one character sees their opposite (and also love interest) do something so uncharacteristic which changes how they see them and in romantic comedies these are the moments that show why they fall for them and I swooned after reading this. This really shows how Pan is and his love for that dog is too cute. This was a look into his character without any expectation, this was just him being himself and that’s why he’s such a great guy for Ulla. He’s a genuine good guy with a humble heart. He’s never represented himself any other way and that speaks to his character. There’s no charades with this guy.
This book contains a science fiction edge not seen in her two other previous series set in the same world. This also worked really well with the tie in of Norse history. They seemed to work seamlessly together and didn’t make this feel like another reiteration of her other series. Each trilogy seems to take a different direction while still maintaining the integrity of the Troll species as a whole. This was only slightly hinted at and discussed in the first book but in here there’s a lot more sci-fi!
Having Ulla’s lineage finally revealed was a great addition to this instalment because that was what she was after all through book one, however there are some real oddities behind it that make me question a lot of this world. It’s way more complicated than first thought and there’s a lot still needed to unravel to make her story complete, setting up her complicated family drama to continue in third book. I won’t spoil this because it’s a big revelation but I will say that I’m glad of the connection drawn from Bryn Aven (from Frostfire, Kanin series) to Ulla Tulin. I liked their friendship and finding out that there’s a familial bond between them made me really happy.
And again, who the hell is this mysterious guy, Jem-Kurk and why is Ulla so curious and infatuated with him? Because I don’t see what she sees and quite frankly it’s way too close to an insta-love romance for me to give it a chance. Whatever it is. See I can’t even label it because he comes out of nowhere every now and then but only sticks around to say a short, weird conversation with Ulla that’s as creepy as it is cryptic before disappearing. He’s random and confusing and most importantly he interrupts her romance with Pan which I’m definitely shipping. I’m not sure where he fits into Ulla’s world and I really hope the third book (no set release) will answer this for me. Ulla’s reactions towards Jem-kurk is not how I would be if some stranger came up to me and said what he said…so what’s his story?
The Morning Flower by Amanda Hocking has a lot going for it. Ulla finds out her lineage, her romance with Pan seems to progress, and the connection between other characters reveal even more about this Lost City, but although so much was discovered, this felt like an in-between book because I felt like characters didn’t really develop and despite the story progressing there were a lot of aspects that made it confusing to follow. Many terms were too close in spelling that their actually meanings became lost in translation. This sequel had a case of information overload and unfortunately I can’t praise it as high as the first book. This pains me to do, but just like the second Fantastic Beasts movie, this was a story that was setting everything up for the next installation rather than showcasing all the things actually learned in itself. It’s an in-between that serves as a platform for the next. It made for a slower read because it felt like not much happened even though it did. There was too much knowledge and not enough action.
The Morning Flower is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of August 4th 2020.
Will you be picking up The Morning Flower? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
New York Times bestselling author Amanda Hocking returns to the magical world of the Trylle with The Morning Flower, the second book in the Omte Origins arc.
Nestled along the bluffs of the forested coast lays the secret kingdom of the Omte—a realm filled with wonder… and as many secrets.
When Ulla Tulin took her internship at the Mimirin, the only mystery she thought she’d have to solve was that of her birth parents. After a girl named Eliana gets kidnapped while in her care, Ulla knows she has to find out the truth of who Eliana really is—and the only way to do that means traveling to the Omte capital, the place she suspects her mother is from.
Ulla didn’t expect that when she arrived she would discover the identity of a Skojare man who crossed paths with her mother—a man who could very well be her father. When the head of the Mimirin learns Ulla’s father is connected to the Älvolk, a secret society who believes they were tasked with protecting the First City and the only ones who know its location, he sends Ulla and Pan to Sweden where they find him living among the Älvolk. But all is not what it seems with the Älvolk and their urgent quest to find the Lost Bridge to the First City leaves Ulla feeling uneasy—and possibly in danger.
