The second in this dystopian story set in Britain fleshes out the world more, we follow Liss and FJ into the religious sect run by the Father, where they live for years. Meanwhile, Riley and Luc are trying to track them down to free them. This is a fast paced, easy read, very enjoyable.

I must say I enjoyed this book much more than the first one. The character development was loud and clear, Riley has grown so much and I hope that the third book does not disappoint!

This second book in the trilogy lives up to the high standard of the first but has enough back story that it can be read on it's own. Riley loves her home and her community within the perimeter and will go to any lengths to protect her people. When her community is threatening but James Grey's cult, she must immerse herself within the enemy in order to help defeat them. The second book in the trilogy still gave me the same chilling feeling as the first and had me reading long past my bedtime. I became fully immersed in the storyline and was both frightened and hopeful at the acts of humanity throughout.

I really like the premise of this trilogy and the ideas set out within the pages.
This being book 2 of a trilogy, I was expecting some growth from our protagonist and I wasn't disappointed. Riley is stronger and a more demanding character on the page.
Readers on the younger side of YA will thoroughly enjoy this trilogy.

I was lucky enough to be chosen to advance read all three books in this exciting dystopian series and just kept reading until I was finished. Thoroughly enjoyed the series.

3.5 stars

The Clearing By Shalini Boland is the second in a YA dystopian series.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Second Sky and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


Series Background:  (Warning:  Contains spoilers from previous books)
World-wide terrorist attacks have changed the world.  There is no government, and the military are no longer in charge.   In England, compounds called Perimeters spring up, most with high-security. Riley Culpepper lives one such compound.  Her father is a trader.  Her sister Skye was murdered by someone who broke into the grounds.


My Synopsis:    (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Riley is terrified that the protected world she knows is about to end.  She has lived in the Talbot Woods Perimeter compound with guards and walls.  Even though she was Outside not long ago in the hunt for her sister's murderer, she is happy to be away from that chaos and violence.  But it is now threatening the life they know.

James Grey, a religious zealot has been building an army using the children that he has kidnapped, and they are on the move.  Both Riley's and Luc's fathers are headed to one of the other compounds to get ready for the battle.

Liss is one of those children that was taken from her home when she was seven.  She and her brother FJ were separated at that time.  Liss has no idea what became of him.  Although the other girls she was with "drank the soup" and conformed to Grey's ways, Liss kept her own mind, and she only wants to find FJ and escape.  It has been years.

Riley, with Luc by her side, will attempt to rescue Liss and FJ (for a second time).  This time with additional help.  But it may not be enough.


My Opinions:
Well,  I was nervous going into this book, as the first one was somewhat disappointing.  This was much, much better.  Note that it picks up about a month after the last book.

Riley, although still showing her teenage angst, was much stronger (and brighter) in this book, and I liked Luc.  Both Liss and Annabelle were heart-warming characters, and I liked them both from the beginning.  It was nice to see Denzil back.

The story is told from both Riley's and Liss's perspectives.  There was no confusion, and it worked well.

There was plenty of action.

I can honestly say that I am looking forward to Book 3.

3,5 ☆

Thank you to Netgalley and Second Sky for the arc. All opinions are my own.

This was definitely more enjoyable than the first book. The writing has improved and the dialogue is not as strange as it was in the fist one. I do feel like the author writes better in 3rd person, because I preferred Liss' chapters to Riley's 1st person narration. I could connect more with the feelings presented by Liss.

I liked that this book didn't have as many plot points as the first one. The story led up to one big impact event and otherwise there weren't many troubles along the way. It made the story flow better and everything happened with a good pace and made sense. The world building was very good in this and we got to know more of the backgrounds and way of life of the futuristic world.

All in all, if you can get through the first book, this one is definitely worth the read!

I didn’t want to put it down. This book is filled with page after page of action and anticipation of what will happen next. It is a continuation of The Outside. I have already ordered the last book in the series! I have to know what happens.

Once Riley and Luc are home, they find out they are not as safe as they thought as Grey’s army is planning to march to their doorstep and threatens to destroy life as they know it. In order to save the life they know and love, they return to the awful Grey’s Close to save two prisoners and end up with some extras. Nothing goes as planned leaving you on the edge of your seat. Page after page of anticipation. I couldn’t read fast enough.

I wouldn’t consider it a romance as I feel it doesn’t spend much time on it. I wish more was elaborated there or it would be left out. Maybe the third book will answer my questions on that!

I am so invested in this series now! I cannot wait to find out what happens next.

A stronger showing than Boland's first entry in this series, The Clearing has a more engaging concept and outline than the first novel. Boland made a good decision in taking the course of the series in this new direction, away from Riley's tedious and aimless search from the previous book. Having a clear antagonist whose existence poses a threat to the main characters and the world at large helps give this plot a more coherent purpose.

There is less narrative bloat thanks to Liss' chapters; the sequel features more third-person narration which is much preferred compared to the author's first-person. That being said, Boland continues to struggle with providing justifications to various characters' endlessly incomprehensible actions and decisions, which unfortunately takes away from the reader's ability to suspend disbelief and enjoy the course of the story. The plot moving forward sometimes hinges entirely on characters doing or saying something very strange just because they want to. Taking care in developing the characters to be dimensional would help to lessen this distracting negative effect on readers for some of the more questionable instances of dialogue or action. Most all of the characters in the novel are paper-thin, with only a single character trait each (if even that). If more effort was given towards building the characters to be more solid, readers would better be able to judge if off-kilter thoughts or decisions by a character are within the realm of belief and aligned with previously elucidated motives, strengths, and flaws.

Lastly, while many other reviewers have referred to this book as fast-paced, I find it to be paced rather slowly. All of the chapters are very short, as is the book as a whole, but there are many chapters where the plot point is literally characters waiting for things (and readers with them). This literary version of watching paint dry time could certainly be reallocated or tweaked to, if not advance the plot subtly in minor ways, at least utilize dialogue or inner thoughts to build the characters to be more substantial.

Thank you Netgalley for sending me this copy!

Riley just learned the truth about her biological father, but she wants nothing to do with him. She also doesn’t want much to do with her mother since she cheated on her pa.

During the beginning of the book, Riley and Luc have visitors; Freddie and Jesse, the couple who betrayed them to James Grey. They tell the story of their kids, who were kidnapped by the madman, and we see their daughter’s, Liss’s, POV during the kidnapping.

Fred and Jessie explain to Riley, Luc, and Johnny about Grey’s army. He wants to take over the perimeter, and he’s already taken over other compounds and perimeters. I’m return for information, they agree to help Fred and Jessie find their children. But that plan requires Riley and Luc to sneak back into the compound.

They were to be let in by Connor, who was during electrician duties, and would find Liss that way, but when he was trying to get escape with Liss, they both got caught and got sent down to the cellars.

Liss’s best friend and chosen sister, Annabelle, steals the housekeepers keys to hopefully release Liss and Connor, but Conner instructs her to find Riley and Luc, who promise to help free the two, but Riley also wants to take Grey and FJ hostage.

After a successful capture and rescuing of Connor and Liss, the gang encounters guards near the exit. He recognizes FJ and attacks Connor, but is knocked unconscious. Connor had a knife protruding from his side. Riley and Luc helped support him on the run out of the close. Unfortunately, Connor succumbed to his wounds before they were able to help him back to the copter.

Liss is finally reunited with her parents, but FJ sees it a different way. Being Grey’s favorite disciple, he doesn’t see his parents the same way anymore and hates them.

With Liss safely back at the farm and FJ being used for bargaining, things should be looking up, but outside of ringwood compound, a bomb has been set and FJ manages to free himself from the cuffs, fights with Riley, and escapes. He manages to intercept Riley in a forest, but Luc and Denzil use Grey as a bargaining chip. Riley is released and reunited with her pa.

The clearing didn’t disappoint. The book was full of exciting plots twists, romance, and strong characters. I’ve been hooked on this series since I stayed the first book! I look forward to reading the next installment in this trilogy!

Book Review 📚
The Clearing by Shalini Boland - 4/5 ⭐

How?! How has Boland managed to make a sequel that is better than the first?! That is such an achievement and I stand by my words. The Clearing is absolutely incredible.

The story takes place a few weeks after the ending of The Outside (book 1). Was actually surprised that there wasn't a bigger time jump, but it worked amazingly well. We follow different perspectives as we did in the first but there are some brand new character introduced in this book and the were really quite refreshing. Again, an achievement Boland has successfully made amazing!

Bolands writing is as amazing as it was in the first book. It flows together beautifully and it's fast paced enough that you don't want to put it down. Whether little or big, the twists and turns always had me intrigued. The character development is much stronger in this book and you seem to have more of an insight into their thoughts. And then, just like the first, it ends with one HUGE cliffhanger that makes you want to dive head first into the next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Second Sky for allowing me to read this ARC - this is an HONEST review from my own personal opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great sequel. I really enjoyed the adventure in this book and cannot wait for the next and final installment.