Guardian of the Gate, by Michelle Zink (Prophecy of the Sisters #2)

She looks creepily like a friend of mine.

The ultimate battle between sisters is nearing, and its outcome could have catastrophic consequences. As sixteen year-old Lia Milthorpe searches for a way to end the prophecy, her twin sister Alice hones the skills she'll need to defeat Lia. Alice will stop at nothing to reclaim her sister's role in the prophecy, and that's not the only thing she wants: There's also Lia's boyfriend James.

Lia and Alice always knew the Prophecy would turn those closest to them against them. But they didn't know what betrayal could lead them to do. In the end, only one sister will be left standing.

Before I say anything else you should know that I am reviewing Guardian of the Gate (Book 2) the day after reading Circle of Fire (Book 3). I will try very hard not to give any spoilers but no guarantees.

At the end of Prophecy of the Sisters Lia was preparing to go to England to find the other keys and clues involved in fulfilling the prophecy and breaking the curse that has turned her and her twin, Alice, into mortal enemies and threatens to drown the world in darkness (or something equally sinister). This means she has to leave behind the home she grew up in and James, the boy she's in love with. Lia and her friends, Sonia and Luisa, go on adventures in Europe while making new friends and enemies and discovering new destinies. I can't think of anything more to say because what Guardian really does is set the stage for book 3, and if I said anything more it would spoil the sequel.

These twins are the most messed up sisters ever. Their relationship takes love-hate to the extreme and then some. I was disappointed in how little Lia seemed to care about Alice's place as queen of the dark side. In Prophecy (book 1) Lia claimed to love her sister and was upset at Alice's betrayal, but in Guardian she is totally over it and ready to beat at Alice at their little game that decides the fate of the world.

James, Lia's boyfriend and "true love" from Prophecy had almost no presence in Guardian. She mentioned him a few times at the beginning and once or twice in the middle as an excuse to veer away from commitment with her new boyfriend. She's upset when she hears how Alice is becoming close to James but it seems as if she adds it to her list of grievances towards Alice and cares more out of selfishness (she left him!) than out of actual love.

Altus is the magical secret island in the middle of nowhere where Lia and her friends travel to and spend part of the book. Its residents are Sisters and Brothers which have a whole complicated definition but can be summed up as "the magical people and their guards". One of my favorite things about Prophecy was how Lia is discovering a world of magic and prophecies slowly, and how she discovers all these new things she never knew before. In Guardian it seemed sort of drawn out, like the author is trying to have Lia "discover" new things, so she created a secret place. But since she never even mentioned it in Prophecy, it lost its Hogwarts-esque appeal and felt more like a ploy for mystery and interesting stuff.

4.4 stars. I was ready to give up after the first 30 pages but I only continued because I remembered how I felt the same way about Book 1 which I ended up really liking. 
 
Am I the only one who realized that Dimitri Markov is a clone of Dimitri from Vampire Academy?