Thank you to the author for allowing me to be a part of the ARC team!
The curse is broken; Carondelet has been returned to Darthium. But the cost was high, and Clara doesn’t know what to do next. As she struggles to wrap her head and her heart around everything’s that’s changed, she’ll also have to contend with a forces greater than she ever imagined.
The difference time and experience can make when developing a story is incredible. My biggest issue with book 1 was that the writing was honestly kind of clunky; it was hard to follow, and I spent most of my time trying to decipher the story instead of just sitting back and enjoying it. This book, for the most part, does not have this issue. There were still a few parts here and there where it seemed like the same information was duplicated, the occasional lost plot point, and a few minor structure or continuity issues. For the most part, however, I was able to just sit back and actually read a pretty good story.
Since I was able to focus on the actual information this go around, I can discuss things like the setting, plot, and characters! We’ll start with the plot. On the whole, it was entertaining. There were twists and turns, and there were things I didn’t see coming. I did have a slightly difficult time really getting drawn into it, but I think that has more to do with the characters than the actual story. The language is basic and easy to follow, and there were more summaries of the revealed information than there were in book 1. This helped keep everything in check for the reader, which I appreciated, but it did also kill the flow a bit. The FMC’s internal monologues were a bit long for my taste (they seemed to be the primary means of exposition), but I think that’s more a style preference than anything else.
While we’re on the subject: the characters. There was a lot less interaction between the FMC and our side characters this time, which was a little disappointing as I really enjoyed a lot of them in the first book. In exchange, though, the author gifted us with significantly more FMC/MMC interactions (and a lot more spice). I do have 2 major critiques about each of those characters. Our MMC is kind of like a pit bull—all hyped up to be this horrible, evil monster set on slaughtering people for no reason, but in reality? Big giant baby who just wants cuddles. I love pitties, but for our MMC it just kind of felt like the character development got lost somewhere. I think it’s supposed to be one of those ‘oh no, he’s just misunderstood’ types of things, but it felt like the execution just wasn’t there. He went from ‘reputedly evil bastard’ to ‘sweet and caring partner’ in about 2 chapters with no real development or explanation in between. Our FMC is really sweet, but her personality is constantly all over the place. She’s fierce and strong, and then she’s terrified and basically just a magical cannon for someone else to point in the right direction. She’s stubborn and pushy, and then a doormat. She shows little to no leadership abilities, and then [spoiler, but you get the idea]. Every time the girl opens her mouth, I kind of want to shake her. Reasonable and expected, given her situation? Probably. But that didn’t make me like her any more. This is almost definitely a personal preference, but it was significant enough that I noticed.
Finally, the setting. This part of the book was done well. The scenes are detailed and vivid. The locations are different enough from each other that you know the characters have moved around. While there isn’t an inordinate amount of specific details, there’s enough to visualize where the characters are and what’s going on without getting bogged down with 75 different descriptions of flatware. It works for the story, and it was enjoyable to read. I’d have liked more information about the magic system and the different regions, but it really wasn’t necessary, and you don’t lose out of anything vital by not knowing.
Overall, book 2 was significantly stronger in terms of writing and plot structure than book 1. It spun an entertaining story that I was able to follow, and it did so while painting a good picture of the world our characters live in. If you like moderately spicy romantasy with curses and wars and all the major magical being types you can think of, this might be a good fit for you. This is book 2 in the series, and it cannot be read as a standalone. You’ll need to start with book 1, “A Clash of Stars.”