The Monarchs by Danielle Paige and Kass Morgan

The Quick Cut: The Kappa Rho Nu sorority struggles to return life to normal and hide their true status as witches as a new semester begins. A Real Review: College is a complicated time in life. You typically start when you're a teenager and too young to really know how you're going to want to spend your life. It can be hard to determine what the right path is or who you can trust. For this sorority of witches, determining who to trust is becoming increasingly difficult. The Kappa Rho Nu sorority had a difficult time last semester (in a true understatement). All they want to do is stabilize their standing as an ultra-exclusive house and ensure that they are never made weak again. Unfortunately, that intention never goes farther than that when the first party of the year goes away - and things only get worse from there. Is someone sabotaging the sorority? Who is now messing with their powers? I loved the first book in this duology, The Ravens. The narrator's were different and had unique voices that really punched up the story in a strong way. It excited me to hear that there was a sequel coming as well. I hoped the second book would only add to the allure of the original. Sadly, I ended up feeling disappointed instead by the way this story seemed to drag more than excite. The narrators are still Vivi and Scarlett in the sequel, but their dynamic as yin and yang isn't there like the first. Where in the dirt their dual narrative served a purpose, it doesn't quite land in the sequel. Maybe it's because they're sorority sisters now and don't think so differently from each other anymore. However, the truth is that their voices started to blend here and it took away a part of the appeal. I would like to say that the overarching plot is quite good. It takes the ending of the first and only further shows the consequences of the Ravens actions. However, the process of that plot playing out took far too long. With a length of nearly 450 pages, it just seemed like there was quite a bit of filler. If the authors would have cut down the length, it would have had a much faster plot and overall been more exciting. A dull finish to an otherwise exciting duology. My rating: 2.5 out of 5