On the one hand, there were a lot of things I liked about this volume. On the other hand, I was right when I predicted that I would probably be disappointed by the series' ending.

I'll start off with the stuff I liked. By this point in the series, the artwork had really grown on me. I first finished this volume prior to my vacation and reread it for my review, and I enjoyed the artwork just as much the second time through.

There were some great action scenes, particularly where the teachers were concerned. I LOVED seeing the teachers in action. I knew Daemon and Mr. Roi were tough, but I hadn't expected Principal Chen to be equally capable at kicking butt.

I also liked finally getting to find out more about Alex's curse (which had absolutely nothing to do with the Sohrem) – it made some of her earlier behavior make more sense. Ronee's curse came as a complete surprise to me, but, again, it helped explain odd earlier scenes between her and her sister. Had this series been longer, I'd have loved a more in-depth look at Alex and Ronee's curses and the effect they had on their lives.

Okay, so I've established that there were many things I liked about this volume. However, the ending was...not great. There wasn't really much Chmakova could do, I suppose. She could either have ended it on a cliffhanger with no continuation date in sight, thereby angering a lot of fans, or she could end it quickly but likely not satisfactorily. She chose the latter option.

There's no way I can talk about this without spoiling things – consider this your warning and skip the rest of this paragraph if you don't like spoilers.

All in all, I enjoyed this series but thought it would have been much better spread out over more volumes. If Chmakova ever writes/draws something else set in this world, I'll gladly give it a shot.

Extras:

A one-page "author's note" that's partially in comic form; a couple pages of Chmakova interviewing JuYoun Lee, her editor; a page of Chmakova interviewing Dee DuPuy, the toning artist for Nightschool; Noh (one of the Hunters) fan art drawn by Dee DuPuy; and a couple pages of additional information about the Nightschool world - Hunters, weirns, vampires, shifters, the Nereshai, and the world in general.

(Original review, with read-alikes and watch-alikes, posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

One volume away from the end of the series, and there is still lots of stuff going on. I suspect I'm going to be really disappointed by volume 4.

A few things didn't make much sense. Like the magical circle bit, which took up several pages and didn't seem to show readers much that wasn't better explained elsewhere. And the grieving Hunter dad, whose anger over the Hunters' decision not to send someone after his son's killers prompted him to...try to kill more teens his son's age. Because that makes so much sense. Also, I'm now even less sure of what the Hunters are supposed to be. They don't seem to be human, and some of them have abilities much like those of various Night beings, and yet they are very adamant that they are a separate group. So, what are they? And is Daemon a special sort of Hunter, or could any Hunter eventually become as powerful as him?

I still enjoyed this volume and am looking forward to reading the last one. Daemon was awesome, as was Mr. Roi (in flashbacks, anyway). I unfortunately did not get the meeting/showdown between Alex and Mr. Roi that I had expected to see, but I'm assuming it will happen in the next volume. Because that's the only volume left.

Readers are finally given an explanation, of sorts, for the mysterious ghostly cloaks that keeping popping up, although I'm curious about whether Chmakova will show what happened that turned Alex's hair white and made her think she's cursed. Things are definitely coming together, and now everybody who wants to capture/kill/study Alex is about to find her.

That's pretty much all I can say without spoiling anything. There was lots of action, a few explanations, and a teeny tiny hint of romance (a new character named Eron, who has a massive crush on Alex's sister; Cassidy, a Hunter who I continue to think has a crush on Teresa).

Extras:

The volume ends with a chapter called “Nightschool: The Keeper's Books,” set prior to the beginning of the series. The Day Keeper is having a hard time keeping Nightschool activities a secret from daytime students and teachers and begs the principal to finally hire a Night Keeper. Enter Sarah, Alex's bumbling older sister.

There is also a 1-page author's note in comic form, seven pages of fan art, and four full-color main story pages.

(Original review, with read-alikes and watch-alikes, posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

I found this at a used bookstore.

This volume comes with a few more answers, although there are still lots and lots of questions. Now that Alex has enrolled in Nightschool in an effort to find her sister, who no one seems to remember exists, readers are given a more detailed look at how Nightschool works from a student's perspective. Alex has to fill out an application, take a tour of the school, and attend class. It all reminded me a little of Hogwarts – the school's floor plan doesn't stay the same from one day to the next, one floor of the school contains an actual forest and a lake, etc. There's even a teacher who seems to take an immediate dislike to Alex, patronizing her when she learns that Alex has been home schooled up until now.

The Hunter and Nightschool groups are still mostly separate, but there's a little overlap that will likely prove dangerous for Alex in the future. Daemon, the teacher of the young Hunters, has Nightschool connections in the form of Mr. Roi. Now it's not just the Hunters looking for Alex, but also Mr. Roi, who's about to become her newest teacher. And Alex still doesn't realize she has done something wrong. Oh boy. I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

As much as I'm enjoying the story, there really is too much going on. Someone at the Nightschool has made Alex's sister disappear like she never existed in the first place. Alex has some kind of curse that still hasn't been explained. The shifters are trying to get Marina back as their personal seer. Several of the Hunters may die from whatever it was Alex did to them unless Mr. Roi can figure out how to help them. There may be traitors in both the Nightschool and Hunter group. Remember, this is volume two, and the series is only four volumes long.

While I'm sure that some or all of these things will have overlapping explanations/conclusions, all this stuff that's going on makes it hard to really get to know the characters. I had one confusing moment when I thought one of the Nightschool students was calling Daemon “teacher,” until I remembered that she was yet another Hunter. And I didn't realize until this volume that the Hunters are apparently not human. Or at least I'm assuming that, since one of the characters talked about something they specifically referred to as “Hunter poison.”

I enjoyed this volume more than the first. I love the Astrals, the moment when Alex shows Mrs. Murrey what she's capable of is absolutely awesome, I can't wait to see what happens when Alex and Mr. Roi meet for the first time, and I'm definitely interested in what's going on. I just wish there were more focus on individual characters. There are quite a few I'd love to know more about.

Extras:

There's an author's note in comic format, plus a couple of pages of fan art. Also, a couple pages of the story are in full-color.

(Original review, with read-alikes and watch-alikes, posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

I found the first and second volumes of this series at a used bookstore and snatched them up. Although I never fell in love with Chmakova's Dramacon the way some others did, I liked it well enough. I enjoy fantasy and was interested in seeing how well she'd handle a switch to a new genre.

Although I didn't hate this volume, I was a bit disappointed in it. There was just too much going on, too many characters being introduced. I'm going to guess that Alex is the series' main character, since she's on the cover and got several pages all to herself. However, it's difficult to tell which of the many, many characters who popped up throughout the volume will play a larger role later. I couldn't even tell you much about most of them, since they appeared and disappeared so quickly.

I felt much the same way when it came to the details of what was going on and how the world worked. Alex is a weirn, which is...something. The back of the book tells me it's a “particular breed of witches.” All I know is that Alex can do magic, and she's got a being called Astral who follows her around. There are two groups, the Hunters and supernatural beings, some of whom attend or teach at the Nightschool. I'm pretty sure neither group is supposed to be considered villainous. The Hunters kill supernatural beings who've gone bad, and the Nightschool people attend/teach classes on the grounds of what, during the day, is a regular school. Normal humans don't appear to be aware of the Nightschool. Alex, for some mysterious reason, is home schooled and is potentially dangerous, although I'm not sure how aware of this she is.

All of this might turn out interesting, but, at the moment, it's just a jumble of vague information. With fantasy, it can be difficult to balance world-building and character development without letting one or both slide, and I think Chmakova may have bitten off more than she could chew. It was worrisome to learn that the series is only four volumes long. Here's hoping the story becomes more focused in volume 2.

Extras:

Four pages are in full-color. Also, there are some author comments at the end.

(Original review, with read-alikes and watch-alikes, posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)