Review - Changeling (MetaWars # 2) by Kelly Meding

My first thoughts upon finishing Changeling, the second book in the MetaWars series, was holy shit does Meding love to torture the hell out of her characters! The second thought was, I definitely want to read more of Dahlia to see what happens next! I loved the first book, Trance, and was eagerly waiting for Changeling to come out so that I could find out who the next character to be introduced was and what diabolical evil plans Meding had for her characters. Of course, one thing lead to another and I ended up waiting nearly a full year before reading this book! Luckily, I have Tempest, book # 3, already on my Kindle ready to go, and Meding does a wonderful job of tying the two books together without getting doing a bunch of info dumping.

Changeling turns the page on Trance's story and instead tells it from a relative new comer to the Rangers in 22 year old Dahlia (Ember) Perkins. Dahlia has the ability to absorb heat and extinguish fires. Kind of reminds me of the Fantastic Four's Johnny Storm except for the full body flare ups. As we learn, 6 months ago, Dahlia was a fledgling investigative journalist before her powers decided to manifest themselves in full glory.

Now, as the newest and youngest member of the so called Ranger Corps (Metas), she brings a whole new element to the table for Trance to turn to. I kind of felt for Dahlia in many ways. She's a relative outsider to the group. She was left with a butt load of money that she uses to help Trance & the Ragners in rebuilding their new home. She finds herself actually leading the investigation into the mysterious body dumps that are happening around town after an incident involving Trance sidelines her for most of the book.

The other Rangers all grew up together and their parents were Rangers themselves. They went 15 years without their powers and struggling for an identity not knowing what would come next. When Meding digs digger into Dahlia's past, we find things aren't always what they seem, and you are kept in the dark until the full mystery and villains are unmasked to their full intent and purpose.

Meding doesn't throw Trance or any of her other Rangers into a corner and then forgets about them. Nope. She's still around as the default leader of the Meta's which also includes Renee (Flex) Duvall, Ethan (Tempest) Swift, March (Onyx) Mendoza, and Gage (Cipher) McAllister. This is a true team effort even though most if not all of the events surround Ember.

What really excited me about Changeling was the possibilities it brings for a newer, badder, and more devastating villain under the guidance of The Overseer. Meding really kept her cards close to her chest in not revealing too much information about the Overseer, and why he hates Dahlia so much. Dahlia's own personal discovery and the ending left me weeping like a freaking baby. As mentioned above, it's a wonder that anyone survives in Meding's world. She has a brutal tendency of putting her characters through the wringer and watching them struggle in order to survive. If you haven't read her Dreg City books yet, PLEASE DO SO!!

The MetaWars series is set, mostly, in a Los Angeles that was devastated by the so called MetaWars 15 years ago between the Meta's and the Banes. It has been compared to a Dystopian novel in that regards. If you are a fan of comic book heroes, then you will enjoy this series as much as I have. Another bit of awesome news is that Meding is currently working on book # 4 called Chimera which is supposed to released later this year (2013). ::Fingers crossed::

Title - Changeling (MetaWars # 2)
Author - Kelly Meding
Publisher - Pocket Books
Released - June 26, 2012
Purchased via Book Depository
Genre - Science Fiction/Dystopian