I gave such a lukewarm review to the first book in this series that some may be surprised as to why I’ve gone on and read the next two books in the series. The answer could be that I’m an obsessive completist (which I am), but it’s actually more relevant that I borrowed these three books from Ben’s mom and I felt that if I borrowed them, I should read them. I’m rather glad I did, actually.

The plot, I hate to admit, is nearly the same as the first book. Instead of cousins, we have twin sisters, Laurel and Honor. Laurel is returning to Ireland to visit her grandparents a year after her twin died there, on a previous trip. She has no closure, unfortunately, with the situation; hence her visit. Although she’s the pragmatic twin, she has found references in Honor’s journal to something not entirely unlike Faerie. How does she deal with it? She acts as though she believes, and things start appearing. Suddenly, she finds herself on a quest to find the Summer King without getting killed in the process. Will she find her sister? Who is the Summer King?

The one truly bad thing about this book is that the previous one exists. Had The Hunter’s Moon never been written, I could wholeheartedly say that this is a wonderful book. Unfortunately, the plots of the two books are much too similar. American girls in Ireland, with Irish relatives, somehow manage to travel around the country alone. They have to battle Faerie for the other female, while at the same time saving Faerie’s butt.

The first book I thought was not nearly as well-written: the adjectives were too plentiful and the infodumps threw me out of the story. The second book, on the other hand — the writing flaws never did throw me out of the story. There were no obnoxious infodumps — although Laurel spends a good deal of time reading her sister’s journal and thinking about the situation while she’s on the plane, it isn’t out of place or unnatural.

Honor’s death has caused Laurel to grieve; she’s turned into a ghost. Practically everything in her life had been put on hold for a year until she could get back to Ireland. Her path of grieving and recovery is the emotional charge of the book. Although there is a male romantic figure — Ian — the relationship there isn’t nearly as engaging as Laurel’s personal quest. I have never dealt with grief on this level, but it felt honest to me. Perhaps a survivor or a twin might have a different take on the situation.

It seems that The Summer King is a more subtle version of The Hunter’s Moon. The “Ireland is AMAZING!” rhetoric has been toned down; the adverb abuse has been limited; the deemed-necessary background is much less. Laurel was even a bit less of a stereotype, and her character was much better-drawn. Ian, I must admit, was a bit stereotypical, but he had his own place in the story and filled it admirably. In every way did I find it a superior book to its predecessor.

The Hunter’s Moon had a great story with less-than-great execution. The Summer King has a slightly used story with much better execution. As I said before, had I not read book 1, I would easily give this volume 4.5/5 stars. Unfortunately, I have to knock off half a point due to lack of originality. If anyone has read book 1, I’d suggest reading this for a better version of the story. If one hadn’t read book 1 but was at least marginally interested in the topic, I’d recommend skipping straight to book 2. 4/5 stars.