"Aerie" by Maria Dahvana Headley

Aerie is a sequel to Headley's Magonia, which I read and really liked last year. This is a young adult fantasy novel where birdlike creatures live high in the sky in the country of Magonia and hide from humans in weather patterns. In the first book, the main protagonist Aza Ray discovers that she is Magonian, travels up to her native country and learns about her heritage. In Aeire Aza Ray's story picks up about a year after the events of the first book. She is back on earth living with her adopted family and in a relationship with her childhood friend Jason. Unbeknownst to her in Magonia her enemies regroup and plan another deadly attack on earth. Aza Ray, her adopted sister Eli and Jason all find themselves embroiled in this conflict and the story takes off from there. The plot itself is pretty straightforward and somewhat predictable. However, I do love the world Headley created and there is something about her writing that keeps me enthralled and wishing for more. Her books do not have the best ratings on goodreads, but I enjoyed both of them and gave them 5 out of 5 stars. They are light, easy to get through and filled with fantastical creatures. I am not sure if she will write any more books in this world. Aerie does have a nice rounded off ending and does not require a follow-on. However, I would definitely like to read more books by this author. Oh, and can we just a take a moment to appreciate the gorgeous cover this book has!