Watcher in the Woods by Robert Liparulo

Watcher in the Woods by Robert Liparulo
Released: May 6th, 2009
Published by: Thomas Nelson
Series: Dreamhouse Kings, Book Two
Page Amount: 304 pages
Buy It: Borders | Barnes and Noble | Amazon

This is the second book in the Dreamhouse Kings series. The following synopsis and review may contain unintentional spoilers to previous novels, so we do not recommend reading this review unless you have read House of Dark Shadows by Robert Liparulo.

"It's not just the house that's keeping secrets.

Pretending everything's all right is harder than it sounds. But the Kings know that even if they told the truth about the bizarre things happening in their house, no one would believe them. They're hyper-focused on rescuing their lost family member before anyone finds out what's going on.

But when a stranger shows up to take their house, their options start dwindling fast. Why would he be so interested in a run-down old place? And what secret is he hiding--just as he hides the scars that crisscross his body?

The mystery gets stranger with each passing day. Will the Kings be able to find a way to harness the house's secrets and discover who is watching their every move before another gets snatched into an unknown world?"
Information from GoodReads.com

Quick Overview: Watcher in the Woods by Robert Liparulo picks up right where House of Dark Shadows left off with its mysterious plot, confusing characters and good writing. The Dreamhouse Kings series is one of those series you'll regret leaving for a rainy day.

This book was a really great sequel. Normally, when you have a sequel, you find it is very repetitive and kind of lost as one of the middle stories. The author can't give too much away about the ending, but they also usually run out of interesting plot points to bring up. They put all their shiny new eggs in the first book basket.

Watcher in the Woods switched perspectives from Xander, who was the narrator of House of Dark Shadows to his little brother David. It was a surprising switch, and it makes me wonder what Liparulo will be doing in the third book. I didn't really like David's thoughts as much as I enjoyed Xander's. It was really cool to see another perspective on such strange occurrences but David's young age was a little annoying. That being said though, Liparulo did a great job of writing from a young perspective and keeping him different than Xander.

Another things that kind of bothered me more than something usually would was the fact that this book raised more questions than it answered. It is how things are obviously going to be in the second book out of five, but I still wished that it answered something instead of just leaving me more confused then ever.

I love the story that is in these two first two novels. I can't say for sure yet, because there are still three books left in the series, but I think this may end up being one of my favorite series. The story flows through as though the two books were one and I didn't find myself bored throughout the entire thing.

There are some great new characters in this book that really add to the mystery of the house.

Plot: 18/20
Characters: 16/20
Creativity: 19/20
Writing: 17/20
Ending: 9/10
Cover: 8/10
=87/100, B (4 star equivalent)