YVONNE’S SHORTIES #321 – Heartstopper: Volume 2 // Fallen

Time for another round of Yvonne’s Shorties! This time around a graphic novel sequel I loved and a detective thriller sequel that also delivered for me.

Title: Heartstopper: Volume 2
(Heartstopper #2)
Author: Alice Oseman
Genre: YA, Graphic Novel, Romance
First published: July 11th 2019
Publisher: Hodder Children’s Books
Finished reading: September 15th 2022
Pages: 320

“I like Charlie Spring! In a romantic way not just a friend way!”

I know that I hardly read graphic novels, but I recently read the first volume of this series for a challenge and it kind of stopped right in the middle of the story… And I couldn’t resist following up with Heartstopper: Volume 2 almost straight away to discover what would happen next. These books are so SO adorable! I think I might have enjoyed this second volume even more. If you need something truly cute and fluffy as a pick-me-up, you should go meet Nick and Charlie ASAP. They are definitely the reason this series is working so well, and they are both utterly adorable. There is some high school drama involved including bullying and dealing with coming out, but it’s mainly the sparks between Charlie and Nick flying off the page that will keep you busy. I really like the illustrations, and they complement the story very well. This volume had a bit more closed ending, although I’m having the suspicion I will read volume 3 sooner than later anyway. I definitely understand the love for this series now!

Title: Fallen
(Will Trent #5)
Author: Karin Slaughter
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Crime
First published: June 17th 2011
Publisher: Arrow
Finished reading: September 23rd 2022
Pages: 496

“’We’re not going to talk about the elephant in the room?’

‘Elephant? For chrissakes, Will, we’ve got the entire goddamn circus in here.’”

This was one of the series I was finally going to catch up with this year, but this was until I realized I was going to have to deal with a certain character AGAIN and I decided to abort that mission. I still wanted to at least read Fallen though, and especially since I had a physical copy waiting on my shelves… And this sequel is probably the strongest of the series yet. The focus is on Faith this time around, and what is happening to her mother and the rest of her family. You will still get a healthy dose of Will, Sara and Amanda as well, as all three are quickly involved in the case. I could have done without the love triangle/cheating (even though they are clearly so much better for each other), but the case itself is extremely intense and fascinating to follow. The building up of the suspense and the plot twists are very well done, and the constant sense of danger will keep you on your toes. Fallen showed me why I wanted to read this series in the first place; it’s such a shame that certain character *cough* Lena *cough* has to ruin the fun for me.