ENVY (The Fury Trilogy #2) by Elizabeth Miles

ENVY (The Fury Trilogy #2) by Elizabeth Miles

ENVY is the second novel (September 2012 release) in Elizabeth Miles’ Young Adult series focusing on the quiet but cursed town of Ascension Maine. Some background information is required to keep focus on this particular storyline otherwise the reader will be lost. FURY is the first novel that sets the stage for Ascension’s fated townspeople when three beautiful women exact revenge for something that happened a very long time ago. The Greek goddesses of retribution known as the Furies will ferret out those who are susceptible to their charms, and in the end, everyone will get what they want and what they deserve. The ‘furies’ actively seek out those that are easily pulled to the ‘dark side’. And in that statement sets the premise of Elizabeth Miles series.

In the previous storyline, Emily (Em) was in love with JD, but she found herself attracted to and wanting her best friend Gabby’s boyfriend Zach. But be careful what you wish for, because sometimes dreams really do come true-but at a cost no one is able to afford. Two high school students will die and Em’s relationship with JD will spiral when he believes she is responsible for his near-fatal accident with the mall collapse. The main characters are all high school aged and KARMA is a bitch. In short: Chase is dead: Sasha is dead: Zach is in an institution: JD thinks Em tried to kill him: and Em knows that the ‘furies’ are behind everything that is happening in Ascension Maine- and she CANNOT tell anyone what she knows.

ENVY begins approximately 3 weeks after the storyline ended in FURY when a popular high school teacher is missing and presumed dead. JD refuses to acknowledge Em, and Em is struggling with the reality that her association with the ‘furies’ has led to the deaths and dissolution of many friendships and friends. But Em is unable to talk about what has happened. The furies have threatened her if she reveals the truth. Em’s friendship with Gabby is strained but Gabby is the only other person who knows what has happened. Working towards a common goal, Gabby will help Em find a way to rid Ascension of the furies-once and for all. Only Gabby’s involvement hits closer to home than Em had realized. And something about Em is changing. Not only is she unable to reveal her secret but physically she begins to look like someone else.

Skylar McVoy is the new girl in town, with a few secrets of her own. Once the chubby kid in the family, it is Skylar’s desire to become one of the popular girls at school. But finding herself lost in the maze of classrooms, Skylar will find a kindred spirit in the beautiful and popular Gabby, who takes Skylar under her wings and shows the new girl the sights and sounds of the school. And when one of the high school jocks is accidently pushed into her, Skylar believes that fate has ordained their love. But Pierce has no idea what Skylar has planned because he has eyes for someone else. Their accidental meeting will set up the premise and the fatal finale in ENVY.

Skylar meets Meg. As one of the ‘furies’, Meg’s ability to offer your heart’s desire will once again find a mark with Skylar. Changing her physical appearance does not change what is inside. Jealousy and envy will push Skylar to make some decisions that will affect everyone at Ascension High. Hoping to catch the eye of the popular crowd, Meg aids Skylar with her plans to get noticed especially with the upcoming annual Spring Fling dance. And when Gabby suggests a welcome party, Skylar’s self- esteem soars until the ‘furies’ evil retribution reveals Skylar’s past history to everyone at Ascension High. Only what is revealed is nothing compared to the truth. Skylar’s history of retribution goes deeper than the stuff of high school envy- her family secrets are why she now lives in Ascension Maine with her Aunt Nora.

Em has found a new friend in Drea. Along with her association with Crow, Drea will show Em a different side of life. Crow is a high school drop out who lives to play music and sing. When he meets Em, he believes he has found someone, a crush but Crow is more like Em that she knows. Crow’s cryptic warnings to stay away, will look like rejection, but Crow knows more about Em’s connections to what has been happening in Ascension than perhaps anyone.

Gabby and Em continue to search for information regarding the ‘furies’. But when the local librarian and Skylar’s Aunt Nora show signs that something is wrong, it is Em who becomes the target of their fear and loathing. Aunt Nora knows more than she is willing to reveal. But it is Gabby’s need to rid Ascension of the ‘furies’ that will send the annual spring dance into a fire-ravaged nightmare.

ENVY is a storyline that focuses on the trials and tribulations of high school angst, but takes it further with the involvement of the ‘furies’. First loves and losses are mirrored by retribution and lies: the popular crowd is only attainable through lies and deceit: and once again, it becomes all about appearances when Skylar hopes to become part of the social scene at school. The ‘furies’ seek retribution against a town using anyone who is willing to get what they want at any cost-only no one knows that they are selling their souls to the devil. And the ‘furies’ have set their sights on the most gullible and malleable of people-high school teens-because they are always wanting something or someone they cannot have. The story evoked memories of my high school days and I was able to put faces to names of the characters throughout the story: the jocks: the cools kids: the pretty girls: the burn outs: the weirdos and the geeks. High school life will never change.

The story is slow to build as Elizabeth Miles creates a basis for Skylar’s personality and character quirks. Miles intersperses small bits of information from the previous storyline, but to do this series justice, she should have made an attempt to include more detail about the major plot twists from her first story FURY. I had to read several reviews and background information about FURY so that I was able to follow the premise of this current book, and yet I am still not sure what had happened to a couple of the teens.This series MUST be read in order. Hopefully, Elizabeth will include a quick summary of the first two storylines when her third and final book in the series is released.

Copy provided through Goodreads First Reads.

Reviewed by Sandy