Cantrip by Rebecca McKinnon

She spent the summer in The Refuge.
Now, she’s come home.
Within days she realizes:

She wants back in.

Only two things stand in her way. The sister Narissa has protected for years can’t decide if she wants to go with her. And, of course, Narissa has no idea how to return to the splinter reality.

Complicating matters, Narissa discovers she can no longer avoid the problems her unexpected trip allowed her to escape.

Through it all, there’s one thing that keeps her going. She’s not the only person to have left The Refuge.

Cantrip, the second book in The Refuge trilogy, takes off exactly where Annexed ended with a major cliffhanger. In this book, Narissa is back in the real world, but this time Damon has followed her. Where Annexed ended with a lot of unresolved conflict, Cantrip begins the steady resolution to some of the major relationship kinks between Damon and Narissa. This is especially important because Damon is now in the real world and must solely rely on Narissa to survive. It was very fufilling seeing that relationship reversal where Narissa is now Damon's protector.

With this second book we delve deeper into the personal life of Narissa and her family dynamics. There are a lot of screwy things festering on the surface of the relationship between Narissa and her mother. NEVER have I loathed a character quite as much as Narissa's mother. It was to the point that I would physically want to slap that woman upside her head! Hearing her try to pimp her daughter out and promote promiscuous behavior really gets under your skin throughout the entire book. So kuddos to McKinnon for envoking such strong emotions toward her character!

The development between Narissa and Damon is also present in this book. We see their love deepen even more as the story progresses. Their's is very sweet and kind, not the steamy firey passion that we normally see in YA stories (although there were some moments when things heated up) but I enjoy reading about their relationship. Sometimes you really don't need that 'stick your tongue down your throat, fire burning in my stomach, rip our clothes off' moments. Its the sweet gestures, like cooking dinners, protecting little sisters and understanding each other's boundaries that really strengthen the relationship.

Of course, no book is complete without a little suspense! I really liked following along with Damon and Narissa's struggles trying to find their way back to The Refuge. There was a lot of digging and researching that really leaves the reader on edge. I kept flipping through the pages, dying to find out when (or if) they'd ever make it back! It was killer! This story has been fun to follow along with and I'm eager to learn what's in store for the third and final book!