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570 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 1, 2023
Sabil: All of the characters in this novel are rich and distinct, with the same credits as my last review. But Sabil deserves her own spot this time, so brilliantly did I love her. She grows as a character, becoming a strong woman in her own right, but is still flawed, still screws up. The best thing about it, however, is that she is held to account by her companions when she does. To many times do we read a powerful woman character who gets it wrong, but it’s brushed off or forgiven easily. Not Sabil; when she messes up, not only does she own it, but she is held accountable. And I love that.
Lenne: Last time around, I wasn’t sure about Lenne. I was suspicious of her, but also a little bit bored. This time around, Lenne is a shining star. A brilliant character who proves herself in many ways, and goes through it for those she loves. She’s not just there like she was in book one, she is an integral character, and the catalyst for the story playing out the way it does. Genuinely the star of this novel for me.
The Tower: Holy moly, that tower was creepy. The atmosphere here was written bloody brilliantly.
The writing style: In book one, I was a little put off by the abrupt way the POV shifts between characters mid scene, almost like an RP being written paragraph for paragraph. While shifts still do occur in OCF, it is SO much more subtle, and far less often. It feels like Camille and Thalia have gotten much more comfortable in their writing together, and it flows far more seamlessly. There were no instances of me being pulled from immersion because of it. Also, I’m delighted to announce that there are only ten instances of faces being cupped in the ENTIRE novel (yes, I counted, I never said I’m not petty!). Horray for narrative growth!
Pharos: I’m not going into any more detail here. Those who have read know what I’m referring to. Those who haven’t yet…brace yourselves.
Dren: This one is a grey one. And may get a little spoilery so skip this dot point if necessary. Dren has a LOT of potential. He’s set up to be an incredible villain, especially early when he’s first introduced. However, I feel like he was done a bit of injustice here; there’s no real depth to his motivations or who he even is, beyond a passing revelation midway through. His magic, the curses he weaves and the strange orb thing he gives Cillean are all kind of just there, to advance the story without much else to go on. I feel like if more time had been spent on him, and the battle with him had been a little more drawn out, the stakes could have been higher with a more satisfying payoff. This is really the only thing that lets the novel down for me; he has so much promise early on, and it’s squandered a bit.
the Aftermath: With one exception, the aftermath did start to feel a bit drawn out. Of course, most of it was necessary; part of the storyline was Sabil learning who she really is, and that couldn’t have happened before Dren’s defeat due to the tensions between courts. But the back and forth between that, and Viana and Pharos’s storyline, gave me such emotional whiplash. I think perhaps it’s simply a matter of the structure of those storylines, rather than anything else.