Happy Birthday to Me Again by Brian Rowe

Cameron Martin has a huge problem: he’s aging a whole year of his life with each passing day… again. And this time... he's going backward!

When Cameron proposes to his beloved witch of a girlfriend Liesel, he thinks life can’t get any better. But when he reluctantly breaks off the engagement just days before the wedding, Liesel angrily unleashes another curse on the unlucky guy, this time making him age backward, from eighteen, all the way to zero.

Making matters worse, Liesel mysteriously disappears, leaving Cameron with no options, except watching himself rapidly shrink into a helpless child. Will Liesel be able to save his life again? Or will Cameron ultimately fall prey to his girlfriend's wicked spell?

In this second installment in the Happy Birthday trilogy, Cameron has once again pissed off his girlfriend, Liesel, resulting in an accelerated aging process. This time, however, Cameron begins to age backwards, turing a year younger each day. With his imminent death breathing down his neck, Cameron must find Liesel, who has mysteriously disappeared, and reverse the spell before its too late.

Once again, Rowe has been able to create an original thrill ride with an inventive story line. I was nervous that the story would sound trite as it was so similar to the first book, but there was a definitive difference between the two books. I was happy to see that Cameron had developed into a stronger and more likeable character. I'm a little wary on his decision making skills, since he still loves Liesel after she's cursed him TWICE. I was also happy to see that the story still focused on Cameron's journey and not turned into a mushy love story, especially since Cameron and Liesel get engaged at the beginning of this book.

I will admit that I had less sympathy for Cameron in this story. While reading the book I kept thinking of that saying, "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me". I had a hard time understanding why Cameron still wanted to be with Liesel as she nearly kills Cameron twice, on purpose! The aging process of going backwards also wasn't as sad as getting older, even though they had the same outcome. I found the majority of my frustration towards Liesel, who seems like a controlling and emotional girlfriend who freaks out over everything, resulting in dire consequences. 

Overall, I enjoyed the first story more than this one. The sequel still had great moments of suspense and action that fueled a very inventive story. Cameron is still a strong and 'take charge' guy that makes the reader root for him to find a cure even though he stays with Liesel. I will definitely say that his character makes the story so much more enjoyable. The ending was pretty epic and leaves a lot to be questioned for the third book, Happy Birthday to You.