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Children of Icarus #2
Children of Daedala
Six months alone in the labyrinth has made her strong. But the search for the exit means gambling on an old ‘friend’ and going against everything she’s been taught to survive. You know the labyrinth will have yet more horrors lurking in its depths. You’ve learned few people can be trusted. But freedom is tantalizingly close. Are you ready to take the risk?
336 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2018
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226 people want to read
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October 13, 2017
Children of Daedala (Children of Icarus #2) by Caighlan Smith is a book I requested from NetGalley and the review is voluntary. I want to thank them for letting me read this good book. I did enjoy this book and all the characters in it. I didn't read book one and this left me at a disadvantage and lost for a while. I don't feel the author helped me get caught up in the story. I finally pieced things together enough but I feel I lost a great deal of the story. Advice, read book one first. I love mythology and the premise of this book. I liked the characters but it seemed a bit disorganized and confusing. I liked the creatures too. Loved the cover! I did enjoy the book and feel it is worth the read for sure just read book one first.
April 8, 2018
1) Children of Icarus: ★★
See my FULL review of this book on my blog along with others at: shesgoingbookcrazy.com
All included quotes have been taken from an ARC and may not match the finished publication.
Content Warning: Gore, Bullying
There’s always a lot riding on sequels in a series. If certain aspects aren’t delivered in the first installment of a series, I hope that the sequel will shed some light on those areas that I think are important to touch on as the reader. Unfortunately, Children of Daedala simply didn’t deliver as much as I had hoped for. While some aspects were much more tolerable, the plot did not develop as much as it needed to the really engage the reader.
World Building
The entire plot of Children of Daedala takes place in the labyrinth. Little information of the labyrinth itself is given and it is difficult to get a good sense of where the characters are. I constantly felt lost, which is ideally the point (since everyone is lost), but it's also difficult to tell a story not really understanding the surroundings.
The society within the labyrinth itself takes on a different form. The Icarii literally enter a new world when they entered the labyrinth and they must learn how to survive. The best way to survive is by strength in numbers. Several pods of Icarii are developed, where the groups' members look after and protect one another.
But where there are people, there is treachery. Supplies are limited in the labyrinth, including hunting grounds, freshwater, medical supplies, and weapons. It isn't uncommon for fighting to happen between the groups for these resources. These fights, however, aren't always provision-related. Bad blood exists between Kleos and Harmonia, two groups with a long and dark history. When the main character finds herself being shoved between the two groups after Fates is ransacked, she must dig to the bottom of the mystery in order to discover who is at fault.
Within these groups exists hierarchy. Being out on her own for six months had made "nameless" a sought out legend among the other Icarii. Nicknamed "Fey Bell" (after the silent bell she wears around her neck) she tries to remain elusive as she searches for the labyrinth's exit. However, she can only make it so far without help. She must take measures into her own hands to have the mysterious journal the Executioner left her translated. The leaders of the groups have their own agendas and are constantly taunting her when they cross paths. Wanting to remain out of the drama, she tries to limit her interactions with them, but can only succeed for so long.
Pacing & Readability
The pacing mimics Children of Icarus. It is slow, slow, slow. In three hundred plus pages, not a lot happens. Even during the climax in the final pages, nothing grabbed me. Without having many variations in the pacing, it made this a difficult read to get through because it was slow and unengaging.
Point-Of-View & Characters
The point of view is again from the perspective of the main character, who again remains nameless throughout the entire story. "Nameless'"--I'll refer to by her nickname of Fey Bell--character grows tremendously from Children of Icarus--but only in her capabilities. In many ways, she still acts quite immature for her age, which becomes tiresome to read. Honestly, I think I stuck it out through this book just because I want to find out what her name is!
Otherwise, I don't think I would have made it this far.
There are several characters in this series, and it is difficult to keep them all straight. With little distinction between them physically, many of these minor characters blended together.
For me, Ryan was one of the more interesting characters in this series. Sadly, his character became rather flat in this sequel. I felt he could have been utilized in more effective ways to keep that initial intrigue going, but that simply didn't happen.
Theo becomes a more prominent character in this sequel. Becoming a “sort of” love interest, he’s constantly riding the fence of being trustworthy. Because his character also suffers from flatness, I found him and his motivations to be transparent and without surprise.
Elle’s character blossomed before my very eyes. I think I didn’t recognize her in Children of Icarus because I was so distracted with all of the gore and overall treachery. While she doesn’t have a massive role in the plot, what she represents makes her all-the-more important to bring up.
The main antagonist against is the labyrinth itself, but later on shifts to other characters as well.
Major Themes
⇒ Survival
Survival is the entire point of this series. Survival in the labyrinth, survival from one another, and survival from oneself in specific instances is constantly on the characters’ and readers minds.
⇒ Mental illness
Represented by Elle’s character, mental illness becomes a large theme throughout this installment. This theme also exists in the first book, but I think I was too distracted by everything else to really notice it. While I believe this adds an interesting addition to the plot, I’m not sure if I actually like the way Elle’s character is represented. Perhaps it is because I feel that her (and everyone else’s) character is left incomplete. In a positive way, however, I feel that Elle’s able to bring opponents together.
Overall Feelings
Things that I liked:
⇒ The main character's growth from the first book.
⇒ We finally get a little more explanation behind the Icarii.
Things that I didn’t like:
⇒ Still not having a good sense of the world or where the characters are at. Scenes blend into one another.
⇒ The slow pacing and anticlimactic end which was supposed to be a massive "cliffhanger" for the next book.
⇒ While we get a better idea as to how the Icarii started, the entire backstory needed a lot more explanation.
Overall, I wasn't thrilled with this sequel, and found it to be without much purpose. I really was hoping for more progression, but this entire book felt like a "time filler" until the next book in the series is published.
Vulgarity: Minimal. Only five words were counted.
Sexual content: Minimal - kissing scenes only. However, there are some references to more going on between some characters.
Violence: Quite a lot. While this installment isn't as gory as it's predecessor, there's still a decent amount.
My Rating: ★★
My Blog ¦ Bookstagram ¦ Twitter ¦ Pinterest ¦ Facebook
See my FULL review of this book on my blog along with others at: shesgoingbookcrazy.com
All included quotes have been taken from an ARC and may not match the finished publication.
Content Warning: Gore, Bullying
”Six months is a long time in the labyrinth.”
There’s always a lot riding on sequels in a series. If certain aspects aren’t delivered in the first installment of a series, I hope that the sequel will shed some light on those areas that I think are important to touch on as the reader. Unfortunately, Children of Daedala simply didn’t deliver as much as I had hoped for. While some aspects were much more tolerable, the plot did not develop as much as it needed to the really engage the reader.
World Building
The entire plot of Children of Daedala takes place in the labyrinth. Little information of the labyrinth itself is given and it is difficult to get a good sense of where the characters are. I constantly felt lost, which is ideally the point (since everyone is lost), but it's also difficult to tell a story not really understanding the surroundings.
The society within the labyrinth itself takes on a different form. The Icarii literally enter a new world when they entered the labyrinth and they must learn how to survive. The best way to survive is by strength in numbers. Several pods of Icarii are developed, where the groups' members look after and protect one another.
But where there are people, there is treachery. Supplies are limited in the labyrinth, including hunting grounds, freshwater, medical supplies, and weapons. It isn't uncommon for fighting to happen between the groups for these resources. These fights, however, aren't always provision-related. Bad blood exists between Kleos and Harmonia, two groups with a long and dark history. When the main character finds herself being shoved between the two groups after Fates is ransacked, she must dig to the bottom of the mystery in order to discover who is at fault.
Within these groups exists hierarchy. Being out on her own for six months had made "nameless" a sought out legend among the other Icarii. Nicknamed "Fey Bell" (after the silent bell she wears around her neck) she tries to remain elusive as she searches for the labyrinth's exit. However, she can only make it so far without help. She must take measures into her own hands to have the mysterious journal the Executioner left her translated. The leaders of the groups have their own agendas and are constantly taunting her when they cross paths. Wanting to remain out of the drama, she tries to limit her interactions with them, but can only succeed for so long.
Pacing & Readability
The pacing mimics Children of Icarus. It is slow, slow, slow. In three hundred plus pages, not a lot happens. Even during the climax in the final pages, nothing grabbed me. Without having many variations in the pacing, it made this a difficult read to get through because it was slow and unengaging.
Point-Of-View & Characters
The point of view is again from the perspective of the main character, who again remains nameless throughout the entire story. "Nameless'"--I'll refer to by her nickname of Fey Bell--character grows tremendously from Children of Icarus--but only in her capabilities. In many ways, she still acts quite immature for her age, which becomes tiresome to read. Honestly, I think I stuck it out through this book just because I want to find out what her name is!
Otherwise, I don't think I would have made it this far.
There are several characters in this series, and it is difficult to keep them all straight. With little distinction between them physically, many of these minor characters blended together.
For me, Ryan was one of the more interesting characters in this series. Sadly, his character became rather flat in this sequel. I felt he could have been utilized in more effective ways to keep that initial intrigue going, but that simply didn't happen.
Theo becomes a more prominent character in this sequel. Becoming a “sort of” love interest, he’s constantly riding the fence of being trustworthy. Because his character also suffers from flatness, I found him and his motivations to be transparent and without surprise.
Elle’s character blossomed before my very eyes. I think I didn’t recognize her in Children of Icarus because I was so distracted with all of the gore and overall treachery. While she doesn’t have a massive role in the plot, what she represents makes her all-the-more important to bring up.
The main antagonist against is the labyrinth itself, but later on shifts to other characters as well.
Major Themes
⇒ Survival
It’s easy not to take chances when the price is someone else’s secrets.
Survival is the entire point of this series. Survival in the labyrinth, survival from one another, and survival from oneself in specific instances is constantly on the characters’ and readers minds.
⇒ Mental illness
”Elle is the beautiful one. I always knew it, but at first I thought it was just her exterior. I thought what was inside Elle was cruel. And it is. Elle has a cruel side, an inhumane side, a manipulative side, but that like her physical beauty, is just something else in the way of the beauty inside. A part of Elle, deep down, is still the child she was when she entered the labyrinth. That child is inside all Icarii, but most Icarii kill that child to survive. Instead, Elle killed her sanity, and used its corpse to shelter the child. Because of that, a part of Elle will always have her innocence. A part of her will always have Prosper.”
Represented by Elle’s character, mental illness becomes a large theme throughout this installment. This theme also exists in the first book, but I think I was too distracted by everything else to really notice it. While I believe this adds an interesting addition to the plot, I’m not sure if I actually like the way Elle’s character is represented. Perhaps it is because I feel that her (and everyone else’s) character is left incomplete. In a positive way, however, I feel that Elle’s able to bring opponents together.
“But thank you. For looking out for Elle.”
“It’s easy to look out for Elle,” Risa says, then gestures to the gauze in my hand. Maybe not always easy, but it’s easy to want to, you know?”
Overall Feelings
Things that I liked:
⇒ The main character's growth from the first book.
⇒ We finally get a little more explanation behind the Icarii.
Things that I didn’t like:
⇒ Still not having a good sense of the world or where the characters are at. Scenes blend into one another.
⇒ The slow pacing and anticlimactic end which was supposed to be a massive "cliffhanger" for the next book.
⇒ While we get a better idea as to how the Icarii started, the entire backstory needed a lot more explanation.
Overall, I wasn't thrilled with this sequel, and found it to be without much purpose. I really was hoping for more progression, but this entire book felt like a "time filler" until the next book in the series is published.
Vulgarity: Minimal. Only five words were counted.
Sexual content: Minimal - kissing scenes only. However, there are some references to more going on between some characters.
Violence: Quite a lot. While this installment isn't as gory as it's predecessor, there's still a decent amount.
My Rating: ★★
My Blog ¦ Bookstagram ¦ Twitter ¦ Pinterest ¦ Facebook
April 2, 2018
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
She's been stuck in the labyrinth for six months now and every moment has been a struggle, but her time there has made her stronger than ever. There are many more hidden horrors in the labyrinth. That means she'll have to turn to a "friend" and go against everything she knows if she wants freedom.
Children of Daedala by Caighlan Smith is the second book of the Children of Icarus series. When I was approved for this novel on NetGalley I had no idea that this was actually a sequel, but I figured it out and took the time to read book one. If I hadn't I expect I would have been very confused by many plot elements here. Unfortunately, I was not impressed to say the least with the first book in the series. Actually, Nameless, our main character, irritated the heck out of me. Luckily, I read it just shortly before I tackled this so the storyline was still fresh in my mind as there was no recap. In the end, though, I think I liked this sequel a bit more - and a good deal of that was because I wasn't actively angry at the lead. Plus, I'm already familiar with the author's style so that helped. Regardless, I still think the book could have been cut down in length by 50-100 pages in length because not all that much actually happens. We are also introduced to many new characters, and for me, most of them were nearly impossible to differentiate between since they all sounded the very much same. My biggest issue though is the fact that maybe only one question of my many, many questions actually gets answered. We also came away with a few more questions in this installment, if that's possible.
Children of Daedala by Caighlan Smith is the second book in the Children of Icarus series that drops you right into the middle of the story. Just to warn you, if you haven't picked up book one before this one you will definitely feel out of the loop - and the experience may be a bit rocky, especially your response to our mostly silent lead character. While I think I enjoyed this sequel a bit more than the first, there are still quite a few issues preventing me from enjoying the story more. I wish I could say that we got more answers. Unfortunately, I doubt that I'll be back for any future installments of this series.
Thanks anyway, NetGalley.
She's been stuck in the labyrinth for six months now and every moment has been a struggle, but her time there has made her stronger than ever. There are many more hidden horrors in the labyrinth. That means she'll have to turn to a "friend" and go against everything she knows if she wants freedom.
Children of Daedala by Caighlan Smith is the second book of the Children of Icarus series. When I was approved for this novel on NetGalley I had no idea that this was actually a sequel, but I figured it out and took the time to read book one. If I hadn't I expect I would have been very confused by many plot elements here. Unfortunately, I was not impressed to say the least with the first book in the series. Actually, Nameless, our main character, irritated the heck out of me. Luckily, I read it just shortly before I tackled this so the storyline was still fresh in my mind as there was no recap. In the end, though, I think I liked this sequel a bit more - and a good deal of that was because I wasn't actively angry at the lead. Plus, I'm already familiar with the author's style so that helped. Regardless, I still think the book could have been cut down in length by 50-100 pages in length because not all that much actually happens. We are also introduced to many new characters, and for me, most of them were nearly impossible to differentiate between since they all sounded the very much same. My biggest issue though is the fact that maybe only one question of my many, many questions actually gets answered. We also came away with a few more questions in this installment, if that's possible.
Children of Daedala by Caighlan Smith is the second book in the Children of Icarus series that drops you right into the middle of the story. Just to warn you, if you haven't picked up book one before this one you will definitely feel out of the loop - and the experience may be a bit rocky, especially your response to our mostly silent lead character. While I think I enjoyed this sequel a bit more than the first, there are still quite a few issues preventing me from enjoying the story more. I wish I could say that we got more answers. Unfortunately, I doubt that I'll be back for any future installments of this series.
Thanks anyway, NetGalley.
April 1, 2020
pooled ink Reviews:
HOLY CANNOLI I NEED THE NEXT BOOK NOW. I CAN'T EVEN THINK OR BREATHE OR ANYTHING.
Are there flaws in this story/series? Quite likely.
Will everyone be a fan of these books? Highly doubtful.
Do I care? NOPE, BECAUSE I THINK THEY’RE GREAT
The nameless MC is perhaps my favorite part. If you’ve read the first book then you already know that the main character was a changed person by the end but holy snap she is epic in this book.
Much of the story is told through the main character’s thoughts and observations like with the first book, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t action aplenty. Monsters, warring clans, hidden motives, clever liars…everything is deadly in the labyrinth and nothing is as it seems. I’m serious, this book is so much better than the last one and the last one was pretty great so…*shrugs with a giant knowing smile about to burst*
Lord of the Flies meets a hellhole of monsters and myth in this gripping continuation of a girl’s journey from shadow to blade. Dark, thrilling, and injected with stakes that will cause your heart to pound both in fear and delight, Children of Daedala is a mind-whipping sequel to an epic series.
I anxiously (but eagerly) await the next installment.
Read my FULL review here: https://pooledink.com/2017/09/01/chil...
HOLY CANNOLI I NEED THE NEXT BOOK NOW. I CAN'T EVEN THINK OR BREATHE OR ANYTHING.
Are there flaws in this story/series? Quite likely.
Will everyone be a fan of these books? Highly doubtful.
Do I care? NOPE, BECAUSE I THINK THEY’RE GREAT
The nameless MC is perhaps my favorite part. If you’ve read the first book then you already know that the main character was a changed person by the end but holy snap she is epic in this book.
Much of the story is told through the main character’s thoughts and observations like with the first book, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t action aplenty. Monsters, warring clans, hidden motives, clever liars…everything is deadly in the labyrinth and nothing is as it seems. I’m serious, this book is so much better than the last one and the last one was pretty great so…*shrugs with a giant knowing smile about to burst*
Lord of the Flies meets a hellhole of monsters and myth in this gripping continuation of a girl’s journey from shadow to blade. Dark, thrilling, and injected with stakes that will cause your heart to pound both in fear and delight, Children of Daedala is a mind-whipping sequel to an epic series.
I anxiously (but eagerly) await the next installment.
Read my FULL review here: https://pooledink.com/2017/09/01/chil...
October 13, 2017
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher thought NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
It took me a while to realized that I was reading a second book and that was the reason for me to not understand everything. Still the reading experience was great and even there were some gaps for me, it was a pretty solid story.
What I have enjoyed the most was the writing. I think that the author has a way with words that make you fall in love with the story and with her writing. I was genially invested in the story, and I think the main reason for it was the writing.
I have also love how the labyrinth was described, with all its monsters and horrors. At times I was genially scared.
However, I found the main character to be somehow childish. I mean, she is a kid, of course, as she is just 16. However, I didn’t think she acted as she should. I found her to be sometimes immature, especially considering everything she is supposed to have been through.
Overall it was a great read, and that the lovers of The Maze Runner will really enjoy it. I am looking forward to pick ore books by the author
It took me a while to realized that I was reading a second book and that was the reason for me to not understand everything. Still the reading experience was great and even there were some gaps for me, it was a pretty solid story.
What I have enjoyed the most was the writing. I think that the author has a way with words that make you fall in love with the story and with her writing. I was genially invested in the story, and I think the main reason for it was the writing.
I have also love how the labyrinth was described, with all its monsters and horrors. At times I was genially scared.
However, I found the main character to be somehow childish. I mean, she is a kid, of course, as she is just 16. However, I didn’t think she acted as she should. I found her to be sometimes immature, especially considering everything she is supposed to have been through.
Overall it was a great read, and that the lovers of The Maze Runner will really enjoy it. I am looking forward to pick ore books by the author
September 6, 2017
Wait... What? No.... WHYYYYY???? Why did it end? Where's the rest!!!??? No cliffhanger instead you are just thrown from the cliff free falling trying to make sense of what in the world just happened!!! Halloween is fast approaching and I am seriously considering becoming Fey Bell as she is currently my favorite person in the fictional world. This book was not only exciting and addicting to the point of forgoing socialization of any kind just to read the next chapter but it is whimsical and clever and everything I could ever hope for! It makes you angry, and sad, and fearful and it really is just all immersive. This could be the next Fandom empire!
How long do I have to suffer pining for the next?
How long do I have to suffer pining for the next?
September 15, 2017
The labyrinth is full of monsters and perils, not least the people inside it.
I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is the first book I've read by Smith, and I didn't realise that it was the second in a series. I wish I'd read Children of Icarus first, because it might have lifted the sense of vagueness, and answered some questions about the characters and setting.
From the start, you are following the main character, who communicates with glares and sharp weapons. She's clearly competent, and confident in her own skills. She has no patience for other people, and only trusts herself.
I really liked this strong female character, whose aim is her own survival. She disregards territories and hunting grounds of different clans, and lives by her own rules.
Even though the labyrinth is a dangerous place, she's made it her home, and she'd rather face the dangers she knows, than try and chase some freedom that might not exist.
I've gotta say, I was a little disappointed, when about 28 pages in, the character spoke. I thought it was interesting to have a nameless mute as MC. But, as it carried on, she was still pretty cool.
The only problem I had, was her age. I repeatedly forgot that she was sixteen. I thought she was much younger, perhaps eleven or twelve. Despite her physical and mental competency, she feels very immature.
The story is well-written, and it follows our MC as she reluctantly spends time with the various clans - the Fates, Kleos and Harmonia. All of which are populated by the children that are sent to the labyrinth (I'm guessing it's an annual festivity, or tribute. The details are sketchy).
It's very Lord of the Flies, as they all try to establish some sort of order and normality in their dangerous new world. Inevitably, the groups are somewhat splintered and people work on their own agenda.
I found it to be rather slow, in terms of any actual plot. It's a reasonably long book a 336 pages, but I felt it could be condensed easily.
Perhaps it's because I came in at the second book of the series, but I found the meandering around the labyrinth (that I didn't fully understand), to be long-winded. I didn't know where the labyrinth was, or what it looked like. Is it made of trees, concrete, magic? How tall is it? Do they see daylight? Can you climb over the walls? Why are they all there?
I was quite bored for the first half of the book and had to force myself to continue. The second half does pick up a bit, as our main character gets more heavily involved in the clans and their conflicts.
There was also a flood of characters from the different clans, with little to distinguish between them, so it was hard to feel invested in what was happening.
It's was an OK read for me, I'd recommend anyone interested in it, read Children of Icarus first.
I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is the first book I've read by Smith, and I didn't realise that it was the second in a series. I wish I'd read Children of Icarus first, because it might have lifted the sense of vagueness, and answered some questions about the characters and setting.
From the start, you are following the main character, who communicates with glares and sharp weapons. She's clearly competent, and confident in her own skills. She has no patience for other people, and only trusts herself.
I really liked this strong female character, whose aim is her own survival. She disregards territories and hunting grounds of different clans, and lives by her own rules.
Even though the labyrinth is a dangerous place, she's made it her home, and she'd rather face the dangers she knows, than try and chase some freedom that might not exist.
I've gotta say, I was a little disappointed, when about 28 pages in, the character spoke. I thought it was interesting to have a nameless mute as MC. But, as it carried on, she was still pretty cool.
The only problem I had, was her age. I repeatedly forgot that she was sixteen. I thought she was much younger, perhaps eleven or twelve. Despite her physical and mental competency, she feels very immature.
The story is well-written, and it follows our MC as she reluctantly spends time with the various clans - the Fates, Kleos and Harmonia. All of which are populated by the children that are sent to the labyrinth (I'm guessing it's an annual festivity, or tribute. The details are sketchy).
It's very Lord of the Flies, as they all try to establish some sort of order and normality in their dangerous new world. Inevitably, the groups are somewhat splintered and people work on their own agenda.
I found it to be rather slow, in terms of any actual plot. It's a reasonably long book a 336 pages, but I felt it could be condensed easily.
Perhaps it's because I came in at the second book of the series, but I found the meandering around the labyrinth (that I didn't fully understand), to be long-winded. I didn't know where the labyrinth was, or what it looked like. Is it made of trees, concrete, magic? How tall is it? Do they see daylight? Can you climb over the walls? Why are they all there?
I was quite bored for the first half of the book and had to force myself to continue. The second half does pick up a bit, as our main character gets more heavily involved in the clans and their conflicts.
There was also a flood of characters from the different clans, with little to distinguish between them, so it was hard to feel invested in what was happening.
It's was an OK read for me, I'd recommend anyone interested in it, read Children of Icarus first.
September 14, 2017
I went with three stars for this one because despite all of the negatives I found in this book, the concept and plot of the story was hypnotic and I found myself under Smith’s spell.
A little background because I think it helps illustrate my confusion. If you’ve never heard the story of Daedalus and Icarus, you might want to read it before starting this novel. It’s not necessary, but it might help you make sense of some of the names. Daedalus was a master craftsman who lived and worked on the Island of Crete (think Greek mythology). King Minos, the ruler of Crete, hired Daedalus to construct a labyrinth (a super-confusing labyrinth), with the express purpose of housing a Minotaur (half man + half bull = totally ugly).
Despite the fact that the Minotaur is moved to this labyrinth that is supposedly inescapable, he still has to feed said monster. He devised a scheme where each year, Athens would send to Crete an offering of 7 young men and 7 young women who would be sacrificed to the Minotaur by being forced in to the labyrinth for him to just happen upon at his leisure. But then, there was Theseus. Ariadne, daughter to King Minos, saw Theseus arrive via ship and can you say love at first sight?
Well, Ariadne cornered Daedalus and begged him to help Theseus survive the Labyrinth and Daedalus just handed over the cheat codes. Well King Minos found out, was pissed, and locked both Daedalus and his son Icarus in the maze….yeah….the one he designed….. and built. That maze. Needless to say, they escape, but they can’t stay in Crete because they do not want to feel the wrath of King Minos, so they try to plot their escape from the tiny island. They couldn’t leave by sea, because Minos controlled all of the seas surrounding Crete. The only way out was to go up. So Daedalus, master craftsman that he is, designs and builds two sets of wings using wax and feathers that the two of them picked up all over the island. When they set off, Daedalus issues a warning to his son, don’t fly too close to the sun because the heat will melt the wax and the wings will disintegrate. So what does Icarus do?
You’ll just have to read the story for yourself if you want to know.
So why the history lesson? Well Fey Bell, our MC, is stuck in a maze. She’s from a city called Daedalum and the people from that city are known as Icarii. She’s not the only one in the maze though. There are essentially 4 different regions of the maze. There is Fates, which we learn through the reading that Fey Bell once lived there; there is Kleos, a territory run by a group of boys; Harmonia, a territory run by a group of girls; and then there is Fey Bell’s stronghold, which she inherited from the Executioner, a woman who taught her how to survive in the maze.
I’ve been trying to think of the best way to describe this book and I keep coming back to a cross between The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins and The Maze Runner by James Dashner. The Maze Runner reference is kind of obvious; a bunch of kids trying to survive in a maze where there are a ton of creatures that want them dead. The Girl on the Train is a little more difficult to explain. That story is told in alternating perspective with Rachel ping-ponging between what is currently happening now and muddled flashbacks of murky things she remembers from her benders. BUT WITH THIS TWIST: imagine that Rachel (or in this case Fey Bell) as a character, knows and has access to all of the murky flashbacks, but we as the reader, don’t. There was just so much information missing that I felt was necessary to the story. So much so, that I made a list:
1. Who was the Executioner? What is her role in the maze? How are we supposed to put stock in her teachings if we don’t know her role? Her name sounds ominous but other than the fact that she taught Fey Bell to survive, we really know nothing about her.
2. In that same vein, why does Fey Bell never tell anyone about the Executioner? She mentions numerous times in her thoughts that she would not mention the Executioner to whomever she’s speaking to, but we never learn why.
3. How/why did Fey Bell leave Fates? We got a bunch of hints thrown at us, such as♈ various references to Colin kicking Fey Bell out, being forced to fight for her life, not trusting anyone at Fates, etc. ♈ but we never get the full story. It’s hard to get behind Fey Bell’s attitude towards Colin and the rest of her frenemies at Fates if we don’t know why she hates them…
4. Who is Gina and why was her death upsetting to Fey Bell? I don’t really consider this a spoiler because the only thing we learn about Gina is her name, she existed, the Executioner was her mother, and then she died, but she’s never mentioned in relation to the immediate story….why should we care who she is? Why does it matter that the Executioner is her mother?
5. Who is Elle? Why is Elle the way that she is? Why does Elle call Fey Bell, Clara? Who was Clara?
6. I really loved the references to ancient Greek names/stories, but how do they relate to Daedalum? Why did the author give them this name? Was it just to invoke the memory of the ancient story or was there some deeper meaning to it?
7. There’s a little bit of romance between Fey Bell and two different guys, but without knowing the background, it was hard for me to figure out which one could be betraying her and which one I should root for. We learn next to nothing about these guys, so how are we supposed to rally behind either one of them?
I just had all of the questions after reading this story. I really loved the premise (and that cover —- wowza) but it just felt like the author held so much back from us that was necessary for the reader to understand Fey Bell and life in the labyrinth. Despite the fact that so much was missing for me, the story was fascinating. I love female main characters and I love it when authors put them in action roles that are generally reserved for males. I love it even more when they kick ass in that role and aren’t just a whimpering pile of mush. So kudos to Smith for writing a kickass female MC in a fantastic world (though I don’t think I would call Fey Bell a fiery female). I just wish there was more.
Believe it or not, I’m not one of those book bloggers who LOVES ARC’s and actually tend to avoid them. I generally don’t enjoy reading ARC’s because a lot of times they get cleaned up before they are mass-produced and in some instances, the final story is way different from the ARC story. I love finished products because I hate coming across problems in books. Despite this, I do have a NetGalley account and I was poking around and saw this cover (which again, wowza) and when I read the synopsis I just had to read this one. I’m not sorry that I picked this one. I would definitely be interested to read the final version to see if any of the blanks get filled in, but if Captsone is planning to sell this as a hardcover for $17.95, I probably won’t be picking it up if the story remains as is.
*I received an ARC copy of this book via NetGalley from Capstone in exchange for feedback*
A little background because I think it helps illustrate my confusion. If you’ve never heard the story of Daedalus and Icarus, you might want to read it before starting this novel. It’s not necessary, but it might help you make sense of some of the names. Daedalus was a master craftsman who lived and worked on the Island of Crete (think Greek mythology). King Minos, the ruler of Crete, hired Daedalus to construct a labyrinth (a super-confusing labyrinth), with the express purpose of housing a Minotaur (half man + half bull = totally ugly).
Despite the fact that the Minotaur is moved to this labyrinth that is supposedly inescapable, he still has to feed said monster. He devised a scheme where each year, Athens would send to Crete an offering of 7 young men and 7 young women who would be sacrificed to the Minotaur by being forced in to the labyrinth for him to just happen upon at his leisure. But then, there was Theseus. Ariadne, daughter to King Minos, saw Theseus arrive via ship and can you say love at first sight?
Well, Ariadne cornered Daedalus and begged him to help Theseus survive the Labyrinth and Daedalus just handed over the cheat codes. Well King Minos found out, was pissed, and locked both Daedalus and his son Icarus in the maze….yeah….the one he designed….. and built. That maze. Needless to say, they escape, but they can’t stay in Crete because they do not want to feel the wrath of King Minos, so they try to plot their escape from the tiny island. They couldn’t leave by sea, because Minos controlled all of the seas surrounding Crete. The only way out was to go up. So Daedalus, master craftsman that he is, designs and builds two sets of wings using wax and feathers that the two of them picked up all over the island. When they set off, Daedalus issues a warning to his son, don’t fly too close to the sun because the heat will melt the wax and the wings will disintegrate. So what does Icarus do?
You’ll just have to read the story for yourself if you want to know.
So why the history lesson? Well Fey Bell, our MC, is stuck in a maze. She’s from a city called Daedalum and the people from that city are known as Icarii. She’s not the only one in the maze though. There are essentially 4 different regions of the maze. There is Fates, which we learn through the reading that Fey Bell once lived there; there is Kleos, a territory run by a group of boys; Harmonia, a territory run by a group of girls; and then there is Fey Bell’s stronghold, which she inherited from the Executioner, a woman who taught her how to survive in the maze.
I’ve been trying to think of the best way to describe this book and I keep coming back to a cross between The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins and The Maze Runner by James Dashner. The Maze Runner reference is kind of obvious; a bunch of kids trying to survive in a maze where there are a ton of creatures that want them dead. The Girl on the Train is a little more difficult to explain. That story is told in alternating perspective with Rachel ping-ponging between what is currently happening now and muddled flashbacks of murky things she remembers from her benders. BUT WITH THIS TWIST: imagine that Rachel (or in this case Fey Bell) as a character, knows and has access to all of the murky flashbacks, but we as the reader, don’t. There was just so much information missing that I felt was necessary to the story. So much so, that I made a list:
1. Who was the Executioner? What is her role in the maze? How are we supposed to put stock in her teachings if we don’t know her role? Her name sounds ominous but other than the fact that she taught Fey Bell to survive, we really know nothing about her.
2. In that same vein, why does Fey Bell never tell anyone about the Executioner? She mentions numerous times in her thoughts that she would not mention the Executioner to whomever she’s speaking to, but we never learn why.
3. How/why did Fey Bell leave Fates? We got a bunch of hints thrown at us, such as♈ various references to Colin kicking Fey Bell out, being forced to fight for her life, not trusting anyone at Fates, etc. ♈ but we never get the full story. It’s hard to get behind Fey Bell’s attitude towards Colin and the rest of her frenemies at Fates if we don’t know why she hates them…
4. Who is Gina and why was her death upsetting to Fey Bell? I don’t really consider this a spoiler because the only thing we learn about Gina is her name, she existed, the Executioner was her mother, and then she died, but she’s never mentioned in relation to the immediate story….why should we care who she is? Why does it matter that the Executioner is her mother?
5. Who is Elle? Why is Elle the way that she is? Why does Elle call Fey Bell, Clara? Who was Clara?
6. I really loved the references to ancient Greek names/stories, but how do they relate to Daedalum? Why did the author give them this name? Was it just to invoke the memory of the ancient story or was there some deeper meaning to it?
7. There’s a little bit of romance between Fey Bell and two different guys, but without knowing the background, it was hard for me to figure out which one could be betraying her and which one I should root for. We learn next to nothing about these guys, so how are we supposed to rally behind either one of them?
I just had all of the questions after reading this story. I really loved the premise (and that cover —- wowza) but it just felt like the author held so much back from us that was necessary for the reader to understand Fey Bell and life in the labyrinth. Despite the fact that so much was missing for me, the story was fascinating. I love female main characters and I love it when authors put them in action roles that are generally reserved for males. I love it even more when they kick ass in that role and aren’t just a whimpering pile of mush. So kudos to Smith for writing a kickass female MC in a fantastic world (though I don’t think I would call Fey Bell a fiery female). I just wish there was more.
Believe it or not, I’m not one of those book bloggers who LOVES ARC’s and actually tend to avoid them. I generally don’t enjoy reading ARC’s because a lot of times they get cleaned up before they are mass-produced and in some instances, the final story is way different from the ARC story. I love finished products because I hate coming across problems in books. Despite this, I do have a NetGalley account and I was poking around and saw this cover (which again, wowza) and when I read the synopsis I just had to read this one. I’m not sorry that I picked this one. I would definitely be interested to read the final version to see if any of the blanks get filled in, but if Captsone is planning to sell this as a hardcover for $17.95, I probably won’t be picking it up if the story remains as is.
*I received an ARC copy of this book via NetGalley from Capstone in exchange for feedback*
February 8, 2018
I really did enjoy this book, and have been putting it off for ages as I had to read it on my phone. I love the aspect of the labyrinth, it sort of reminded me of the Maze Runner series, but to be honest, this idea was better. What I didn't enjoy was how these people came to be in the labyrinth, like what sort of person does that?
I would like to thank net Galley, the Publisher and definitely the Author for giving me a chance to read this book, was amazing!!!
I would like to thank net Galley, the Publisher and definitely the Author for giving me a chance to read this book, was amazing!!!
August 21, 2017
She seems to want to be alone in this labyrinth she's been thrust into. Surviving the labyrinth isn't easy. There are groups who claim portions of the labyrinth as their territory and are vicious to protect it. She has been mocked and cruelty treated and thus keeps her distance as much as possible. There are dangerous odd creatures who are difficult to kill. It seems like the rest of her original group is dead and so is her teacher- the executioner. The executioner taught her how to survive and that her best chance of surviving is to be alone and never trust anyone. She keeps her distance from the groups, not wanting to be forced to join one or be brutally attacked. Then one day she does something that will change everything. She saves three people from a flock of creatures. Before they can hurt her she takes one of them captive... this changes everything.
Great for fans of The Maze Runner or Hunger Games.
Free ARC given by NetGalley for fair and honest review.
Great for fans of The Maze Runner or Hunger Games.
Free ARC given by NetGalley for fair and honest review.
October 7, 2023
Felt more like a soap opera than the cut throat action i hoped for.
March 29, 2018
OMG! This book was AWESOME! I absolutely loved it!!!
As with Children of Icarus, the author did a great job world building, and this book was very well-written.
This book also kept me guessing. I couldn't put it down, and it had many twists and turns throughout the book.
My only issue with this book was the ending. It ends with such a cliffhanger! I'm just upset that I will have to wait a long time to see what happens next. The next book in the series is not listed on GoodReads yet, so I am not sure when book #3 will be released.
I loved Clara in this book. In the last book, she got on my nerves some, because of how weak she seemed. She has a complete transformation from the girl we meet at the beginning of Children of Icarus and the girl that is in this book.
If you haven't read Children of Icarus, you should read it now so that you can follow up with this book!
I received a copy of this book from the publishers, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
Check out this and many other book reviews on my blog: Meet Your New Favorite Book
As with Children of Icarus, the author did a great job world building, and this book was very well-written.
This book also kept me guessing. I couldn't put it down, and it had many twists and turns throughout the book.
My only issue with this book was the ending. It ends with such a cliffhanger! I'm just upset that I will have to wait a long time to see what happens next. The next book in the series is not listed on GoodReads yet, so I am not sure when book #3 will be released.
I loved Clara in this book. In the last book, she got on my nerves some, because of how weak she seemed. She has a complete transformation from the girl we meet at the beginning of Children of Icarus and the girl that is in this book.
If you haven't read Children of Icarus, you should read it now so that you can follow up with this book!
I received a copy of this book from the publishers, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
Check out this and many other book reviews on my blog: Meet Your New Favorite Book
December 19, 2020
I literally cannot express how much The Children of Icarus and this book mean to me. I swear, their the best books I have ever read. I got sucked into them and my nose was always buried under the books. I finished the 2 books in 2 days and then when I realized there was no sequel to the Children of Daedala I was absolutely distraught. I actually sat there hugging the book hoping it wasn't over. Finally, I faced the truth and now am patiently trying to wait for the sequel which I hope and beg the author to write. All in all this is the best book ever and I suggest you read The Children of Icarus first. I really do hope the next book comes out soon. Anyway 10 out of 10 definitely would recommend. This is also one of the series' in which the 2nd book is better than the first. :)
March 19, 2018
ARC provided by Capstone via Netgalley for an honest review.
This sequel to the Children of Icarus was just as amazing as the first. It is fast paced and with some twists and turns to the plot that keep it fresh and exciting. The labyrinth continues to amaze me with its size and the dangerous creatures that lurk with in. There are even more humans living than were shown in the first book, which really made me think about how large this place must be. We start to get an inkling into the whole history of the labyrinth and the reasons why the kids are sent into it. But there is still more to find out which will make the next book even better.
The MC continues to be nameless, to herself at least. She is still called Clara by the people from Fates that she runs into in this book, but she also has a new name, Fey Bell, given to her by one of the two other groups we meet in this book. I really like that we don’t know her name, it makes her more interesting and more of a shadow to her own story. She continues to grow and become stronger. Her training by the Executioner in the first book, serves her well. She can be a total badass when it is needed and shows others that have lived in the labyrinth longer than her a trick or two. I also liked that she wanted to be alone, but also realized that she would need help in order to find her way out of the labyrinth.
There are a few characters from the original book that she meets and interacts with. Mostly two boys that I still am not sure I totally trust. Ryan I started out not trusting at all. I was just never sure about his motivation and his feelings for our Fey Bell. By the end though I was beginning to think that he was more trustworthy than Theo, who I think was using her for his own reasons. Both boys seem to be attracted to Fey Bell, and she to them, but this is certainly not a main theme in the book. It is more like, hey we are hormonal teenagers and find ourselves attracted to each other even though we are trapped in this hellish nightmare. It is done well though, and it felt more authentic than most teen attractions in YA. Elle is still the most troubled and troubling character in the books. She is somewhat delusional, but at times I wonder if she knows more about the labyrinth and what it all means, but is unable to handle the truth, so retreats into her delusions.
We meet two new groups in the Labyrinth. Kleos is mostly boys (maybe all boys, it is unclear) and Harmonia is all girls. They have been fighting each other for a long time over territory and resources. It isn’t long before Fey Bell is drawn into the war. It is interesting how these groups have formed and as if they don’t have enough to deal with, like the horrendous creatures that lurk in the labyrinth and kill them, they kill each other over very minor things. It appears that almost everyone in charge of the groups in somewhat mentally unstable to the detriment of the groups. Gammon, the leader of Kleos, is especially crazy, and paranoid to some extent. At the end we find out why, but wow, he is totally out there. Harmonia’s leader is not much better, but her second in command is the real crazy in that group. There are some good people in each group, but for what ever reason they never stand up to the people in charge, even when they know that they are not doing what is good for the group.
This is a sequel that was done right. It kept you just as interested in the characters and the story as the first. I took a peek at the Goodread comments before writing this and many of them stated that they didn’t know it was a sequel before they read it, but still liked it. Which I think is a testament to how good it is. I will warn you that this one ends with a hell of a cliffhanger. It will be a really long wait to see what happens to all of the kids in the labyrinth and whether or not they can escape it.
https://elnadesbookchat.com/
This sequel to the Children of Icarus was just as amazing as the first. It is fast paced and with some twists and turns to the plot that keep it fresh and exciting. The labyrinth continues to amaze me with its size and the dangerous creatures that lurk with in. There are even more humans living than were shown in the first book, which really made me think about how large this place must be. We start to get an inkling into the whole history of the labyrinth and the reasons why the kids are sent into it. But there is still more to find out which will make the next book even better.
The MC continues to be nameless, to herself at least. She is still called Clara by the people from Fates that she runs into in this book, but she also has a new name, Fey Bell, given to her by one of the two other groups we meet in this book. I really like that we don’t know her name, it makes her more interesting and more of a shadow to her own story. She continues to grow and become stronger. Her training by the Executioner in the first book, serves her well. She can be a total badass when it is needed and shows others that have lived in the labyrinth longer than her a trick or two. I also liked that she wanted to be alone, but also realized that she would need help in order to find her way out of the labyrinth.
There are a few characters from the original book that she meets and interacts with. Mostly two boys that I still am not sure I totally trust. Ryan I started out not trusting at all. I was just never sure about his motivation and his feelings for our Fey Bell. By the end though I was beginning to think that he was more trustworthy than Theo, who I think was using her for his own reasons. Both boys seem to be attracted to Fey Bell, and she to them, but this is certainly not a main theme in the book. It is more like, hey we are hormonal teenagers and find ourselves attracted to each other even though we are trapped in this hellish nightmare. It is done well though, and it felt more authentic than most teen attractions in YA. Elle is still the most troubled and troubling character in the books. She is somewhat delusional, but at times I wonder if she knows more about the labyrinth and what it all means, but is unable to handle the truth, so retreats into her delusions.
We meet two new groups in the Labyrinth. Kleos is mostly boys (maybe all boys, it is unclear) and Harmonia is all girls. They have been fighting each other for a long time over territory and resources. It isn’t long before Fey Bell is drawn into the war. It is interesting how these groups have formed and as if they don’t have enough to deal with, like the horrendous creatures that lurk in the labyrinth and kill them, they kill each other over very minor things. It appears that almost everyone in charge of the groups in somewhat mentally unstable to the detriment of the groups. Gammon, the leader of Kleos, is especially crazy, and paranoid to some extent. At the end we find out why, but wow, he is totally out there. Harmonia’s leader is not much better, but her second in command is the real crazy in that group. There are some good people in each group, but for what ever reason they never stand up to the people in charge, even when they know that they are not doing what is good for the group.
This is a sequel that was done right. It kept you just as interested in the characters and the story as the first. I took a peek at the Goodread comments before writing this and many of them stated that they didn’t know it was a sequel before they read it, but still liked it. Which I think is a testament to how good it is. I will warn you that this one ends with a hell of a cliffhanger. It will be a really long wait to see what happens to all of the kids in the labyrinth and whether or not they can escape it.
https://elnadesbookchat.com/
March 22, 2021
I took a few days to recollect myself after finishing this book because I did have a explosive reaction when I read the ending. In my opinion this is a 3.5 star rating, it did significantly better compared to the first book and I do like how the main character is nicknamed Fey Bell and although her development from "Clara" to Fey Bell is quite a rough and slow journey, like most character development... I felt that there is a lot more things that could be put into or explained a bit more to really flesh out the world than paint it grey with a hint of foilage.
I get the impression that Fey Bell is a maleable character who picks up after those that have sadly passed on, ie. Clara and the Executioner because she embodies them a little each time, perhaps more of the Executioner than Clara now that I think about it. When this second book starts, I was a little confused because I wasn't sure how far into the world we are (but now knowing she's seventeen and there were a couple of months thrown into the dialogue) I still felt a bit disoriented by the world of the labriynth. It was a nice add to the Kleos and the Harmonia group into the story and although there was a bit of history being mentioned it still doesn't feel like they were a significant group played into the storyline, more so they are just there to actually show that Fey Bell has developed to be a stronger version of her past self that basically it's like the Executioner but an extremely soft edge into it.
When it comes to the other characters around Fey Bell, there wasn't a big impact in the difference between the first and second book, although I found Theo to be way more suspicious here considering his attitude towards Fey Bell was quite irritating but also it shows you a bit of his true character underneath all that "niceness". Ryan is definitely a static character that could reach potential( that's how i perceive), Collin is definitely the character I despise since the first book because of what he has done. Elle is an interesting change but I felt she still got the short end of the stick. Overall, when I finished this book I came out with more questions than answers which I actually expected and the way the second book ended hints at a possibility of there being a third book, that or it really ends in such a way that it could be an open discussion of what actually happened or what the entire labrinyth was suppose to be and whether or not these surviving characters made it out of the exit. This is basically how I perceive the book, there were some good moments and I did enjoy the book but of course, a bit of disappointment here and there and potential expansion of the world would be nice.
I get the impression that Fey Bell is a maleable character who picks up after those that have sadly passed on, ie. Clara and the Executioner because she embodies them a little each time, perhaps more of the Executioner than Clara now that I think about it. When this second book starts, I was a little confused because I wasn't sure how far into the world we are (but now knowing she's seventeen and there were a couple of months thrown into the dialogue) I still felt a bit disoriented by the world of the labriynth. It was a nice add to the Kleos and the Harmonia group into the story and although there was a bit of history being mentioned it still doesn't feel like they were a significant group played into the storyline, more so they are just there to actually show that Fey Bell has developed to be a stronger version of her past self that basically it's like the Executioner but an extremely soft edge into it.
When it comes to the other characters around Fey Bell, there wasn't a big impact in the difference between the first and second book, although I found Theo to be way more suspicious here considering his attitude towards Fey Bell was quite irritating but also it shows you a bit of his true character underneath all that "niceness". Ryan is definitely a static character that could reach potential( that's how i perceive), Collin is definitely the character I despise since the first book because of what he has done. Elle is an interesting change but I felt she still got the short end of the stick. Overall, when I finished this book I came out with more questions than answers which I actually expected and the way the second book ended hints at a possibility of there being a third book, that or it really ends in such a way that it could be an open discussion of what actually happened or what the entire labrinyth was suppose to be and whether or not these surviving characters made it out of the exit. This is basically how I perceive the book, there were some good moments and I did enjoy the book but of course, a bit of disappointment here and there and potential expansion of the world would be nice.
October 27, 2017
Goodreads Synopsis:
Six months alone in the labyrinth has made her strong. But the search for the exit means gambling on an old ‘friend’ and going against everything she’s been taught to survive. You know the labyrinth will have yet more horrors lurking in its depths. You’ve learned few people can be trusted. But freedom is tantalizingly close. Are you ready to take the risk?
My Review:
I received a copy of this from Netgalley in exchange for a review.
I absolutely loved the first book, and immediately after finishing that started on this one. The story begins six months after the last. The main character has been surviving on her own after her mentor died, and has adopted the nickname Fey Bell. Obviously she's been doing something right if she's survived this long. She's discovered two more tribes of Icarii, who have been battling each other for who knows how long in the labyrinth. Fates is still active and although she hasn't run into them since escaping their cruel plan to kill her, she's worried she will one day. She still hasn't found an exit.
After killing a group of screechers, she sees the last people she ever wanted to see again. The kids from Fates. They treated her terribly, and I wouldn't doubt that they'd do it again. She saves them from the attack and they're still unwilling to treat her any differently. She takes one of them hostage in exchange for someone of more value. They don't cooperate and she ends up stuck with one of them under her wing who doesn't want to do anything but make things more difficult for her.
This book, like the first one, is set in the labyrinth. It's exciting and full of action. The characters have changed a lot, but they're still the same people despite the time jump. She gets to know some of the other groups of people in the labyrinth that weren't previously discovered, which is cool. It gives it another side to this massive labyrinth. They’re alive and kicking, they're fighting each other, and she has to play into that to get what she needs, a friend, and a way out of this hell, hopefully.
Overall this book is everything I wanted it to be and more. I need to know what happens next! Some books lose quality throughout the series, but this hasn't even a little bit. I loved every page and I wish I could read more but this one hasn't even come out yet so I've got a bit of a wait ahead of me. I definitely recommend checking it out in addition to the first book because I want you to love it as much as I do.
Thanks for reading! Check out this review and more at my blog.
(Radioactivebookreviews.wordpress.com)
Six months alone in the labyrinth has made her strong. But the search for the exit means gambling on an old ‘friend’ and going against everything she’s been taught to survive. You know the labyrinth will have yet more horrors lurking in its depths. You’ve learned few people can be trusted. But freedom is tantalizingly close. Are you ready to take the risk?
My Review:
I received a copy of this from Netgalley in exchange for a review.
I absolutely loved the first book, and immediately after finishing that started on this one. The story begins six months after the last. The main character has been surviving on her own after her mentor died, and has adopted the nickname Fey Bell. Obviously she's been doing something right if she's survived this long. She's discovered two more tribes of Icarii, who have been battling each other for who knows how long in the labyrinth. Fates is still active and although she hasn't run into them since escaping their cruel plan to kill her, she's worried she will one day. She still hasn't found an exit.
After killing a group of screechers, she sees the last people she ever wanted to see again. The kids from Fates. They treated her terribly, and I wouldn't doubt that they'd do it again. She saves them from the attack and they're still unwilling to treat her any differently. She takes one of them hostage in exchange for someone of more value. They don't cooperate and she ends up stuck with one of them under her wing who doesn't want to do anything but make things more difficult for her.
This book, like the first one, is set in the labyrinth. It's exciting and full of action. The characters have changed a lot, but they're still the same people despite the time jump. She gets to know some of the other groups of people in the labyrinth that weren't previously discovered, which is cool. It gives it another side to this massive labyrinth. They’re alive and kicking, they're fighting each other, and she has to play into that to get what she needs, a friend, and a way out of this hell, hopefully.
Overall this book is everything I wanted it to be and more. I need to know what happens next! Some books lose quality throughout the series, but this hasn't even a little bit. I loved every page and I wish I could read more but this one hasn't even come out yet so I've got a bit of a wait ahead of me. I definitely recommend checking it out in addition to the first book because I want you to love it as much as I do.
Thanks for reading! Check out this review and more at my blog.
(Radioactivebookreviews.wordpress.com)
March 29, 2018
Original post can be found at: http://www.nerdprobs.com/books/book-r...
**A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
I am pretty sure when I saw that this book was available for request you could hear me screeching from about three states away. I LOVED the first book, staying up way past when I should just so I could find out what would happen with our main character. Now I have my tablet charged and ready for me to read the second installment in the Children of Icarus series. I am absolutely giddy with excitement.
Our story picks up basically right where it left off. The main heroine is still unnamed. Throughout the book, she is called still Clara and the new nickname of Fey Bell. She is living alone in the labyrinth now that the Executioner is dead. She has basically become a bad-ass. With what the Executioner taught her she is able to down screechers by herself and kill diggers. She likes being alone. She carries a ton of weapons: a chain, ax, arrows and a bow, and a spiked ball and chain to name a few. She also weaves spikes into her braids so anyone who attacks and grabs her hair with slice their hands. All of that changes when one day she runs across her old Fates family. The people who rescued her when she was dumped into the labyrinth on that fateful day. One thing leads to another and she takes Ryan captive. She specifically picks him because she wants to use him as collateral to get the person she really wants, Cassie. Cassie can read an ancient language so she can translate a journal that Clara has. Ryan admits that he can also read the ancient language. Will they ever get out of the labyrinth? Will she use Ryan as a hostage to get Cassie?
OH.MY.WORD. This book ended on such a cliffhanger. I am chomping at the bit to read the next book in the series. Why do I have to wait so long?! Again the author delivers a well-rounded book. The author finally gives the main character a slight romance. Hopefully, more will come of that during book three. The author creates a world that you can see in your mind’s eye. The horrifying creatures, especially in this book the lion that the main character fights, leap to life. The descriptions that she provides are amazing. The small romance that is written in is so cute. She is awkward when it comes to romance and you can totally feel her anxiety over it and her internal “What do I do?”. I cannot wait to find out what happens next. Hopefully, I don’t have to wait too long to find out.
**A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
I am pretty sure when I saw that this book was available for request you could hear me screeching from about three states away. I LOVED the first book, staying up way past when I should just so I could find out what would happen with our main character. Now I have my tablet charged and ready for me to read the second installment in the Children of Icarus series. I am absolutely giddy with excitement.
Our story picks up basically right where it left off. The main heroine is still unnamed. Throughout the book, she is called still Clara and the new nickname of Fey Bell. She is living alone in the labyrinth now that the Executioner is dead. She has basically become a bad-ass. With what the Executioner taught her she is able to down screechers by herself and kill diggers. She likes being alone. She carries a ton of weapons: a chain, ax, arrows and a bow, and a spiked ball and chain to name a few. She also weaves spikes into her braids so anyone who attacks and grabs her hair with slice their hands. All of that changes when one day she runs across her old Fates family. The people who rescued her when she was dumped into the labyrinth on that fateful day. One thing leads to another and she takes Ryan captive. She specifically picks him because she wants to use him as collateral to get the person she really wants, Cassie. Cassie can read an ancient language so she can translate a journal that Clara has. Ryan admits that he can also read the ancient language. Will they ever get out of the labyrinth? Will she use Ryan as a hostage to get Cassie?
OH.MY.WORD. This book ended on such a cliffhanger. I am chomping at the bit to read the next book in the series. Why do I have to wait so long?! Again the author delivers a well-rounded book. The author finally gives the main character a slight romance. Hopefully, more will come of that during book three. The author creates a world that you can see in your mind’s eye. The horrifying creatures, especially in this book the lion that the main character fights, leap to life. The descriptions that she provides are amazing. The small romance that is written in is so cute. She is awkward when it comes to romance and you can totally feel her anxiety over it and her internal “What do I do?”. I cannot wait to find out what happens next. Hopefully, I don’t have to wait too long to find out.
December 20, 2017
3.5 stars*
I received this e-arc from netgalley in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.
(This book will be published in April 2018)
Firstly, I would like to point out that I was not aware that this was a sequel when I started reading this book, therefor my review may not be very accurate since I have not read the first book in this series.
Now that is out of the way, I have to say that despite my confusion I ended up enjoying this book. The book started out quite slow and I was very confused. I did not know any of the characters and the world was not explained in this book. If you are like me and you have not read the first book, you will be very confused. I felt like the author did not really help the reader to get back into the book, the world and characters were not explained here at all. So, please don’t be like me and just read the previous book first.
Once I was a bit further into the story and I had figured out a bit more about the characters and the world, I did enjoy the book. I really liked the main character, in some odd way I recognize myself in her. In other reviews I read, it says that she has changed a lot since the first book, but obviously I can’t judge that.
Now for the plot, the story is inspired by Greek mythology. Especially by the story of Icarus and Daedalus, which I was not familiar with when getting into the book, but after reading a bit about this mythology I have a bit of a better understanding of the book.
the book started out slow but the further in the book I got, the more interesting it got. However, when looking on goodreads it looks like this is a duology, therefor I was expecting all my answers to be answered and resolved by the end of the book. This wasn’t the case, the ending was very open and a bit of a cliffhanger even.
All in all, I enjoyed this book. It was not perfect, and I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I had read the first book (which was my own fault really, for not checking it out on goodreads first) but I definitely recommend you reading this series. And I think I am going to have to read the first book soon, because I need my questions answered!
oops almost forgot to mention, i give this book 3,5 stars. I could not give it 4 stars, since i could not optimally enjoy this book because of my confusion. my rating my get higher after i read the first book.
I received this e-arc from netgalley in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.
(This book will be published in April 2018)
Firstly, I would like to point out that I was not aware that this was a sequel when I started reading this book, therefor my review may not be very accurate since I have not read the first book in this series.
Now that is out of the way, I have to say that despite my confusion I ended up enjoying this book. The book started out quite slow and I was very confused. I did not know any of the characters and the world was not explained in this book. If you are like me and you have not read the first book, you will be very confused. I felt like the author did not really help the reader to get back into the book, the world and characters were not explained here at all. So, please don’t be like me and just read the previous book first.
Once I was a bit further into the story and I had figured out a bit more about the characters and the world, I did enjoy the book. I really liked the main character, in some odd way I recognize myself in her. In other reviews I read, it says that she has changed a lot since the first book, but obviously I can’t judge that.
Now for the plot, the story is inspired by Greek mythology. Especially by the story of Icarus and Daedalus, which I was not familiar with when getting into the book, but after reading a bit about this mythology I have a bit of a better understanding of the book.
the book started out slow but the further in the book I got, the more interesting it got. However, when looking on goodreads it looks like this is a duology, therefor I was expecting all my answers to be answered and resolved by the end of the book. This wasn’t the case, the ending was very open and a bit of a cliffhanger even.
All in all, I enjoyed this book. It was not perfect, and I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I had read the first book (which was my own fault really, for not checking it out on goodreads first) but I definitely recommend you reading this series. And I think I am going to have to read the first book soon, because I need my questions answered!
oops almost forgot to mention, i give this book 3,5 stars. I could not give it 4 stars, since i could not optimally enjoy this book because of my confusion. my rating my get higher after i read the first book.
October 17, 2018
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
This book is an improvement from the first novel. But not by much. I still didn't love this story as much as I had hoped. NB: you will definitely not understand this book if you haven't read the first novel in the series!
The main character - who was still Nameless - wasn't as irritating in this book as she was in the last. She came into her abilities a lot more in this novel so I wasn't as mad when reading. But there were so many new characters that were involved and they all were just so flat and one-dimensional that it was hard to tell them apart. I had a tough time telling who was an ally and who was an enemy because they all sounded the same.
There was less violence in this story but it was still unnecessarily violent and graphic at times. Now, I love gore but even I had to say that there was too much of it in this series - and that's saying something! I also thought that the book was unnecessarily long. It could easily have been a good 100 pages shorter, without losing any plot. Maybe that's because not much happens in the story. I kept wondering when things would get going but it never really did. I definitely felt that this novel suffered from second-book-syndrome in that it was just filler until the next book came out.
I also felt that there just weren't enough questions answered. The first novel left me with a lot of questions and I was hoping this one would provide some answers. Instead, it presented more questions. The story also lacked a solid backstory. I wanted to know more about how things got to be the way they were but that didn't really happen, which was disappointing. I wanted more mythology and more explanations about mythology for those people who perhaps weren't as familiar with mythology. This was definitely lacking in both books in this series.
Overall, this novel, while an improvement from the first in the series, was still not what I wanted or expected. Since it has gotten better, I'm going to give it a 2/5 stars. But I don't think I'm going to be sticking to this series.
This book is an improvement from the first novel. But not by much. I still didn't love this story as much as I had hoped. NB: you will definitely not understand this book if you haven't read the first novel in the series!
The main character - who was still Nameless - wasn't as irritating in this book as she was in the last. She came into her abilities a lot more in this novel so I wasn't as mad when reading. But there were so many new characters that were involved and they all were just so flat and one-dimensional that it was hard to tell them apart. I had a tough time telling who was an ally and who was an enemy because they all sounded the same.
There was less violence in this story but it was still unnecessarily violent and graphic at times. Now, I love gore but even I had to say that there was too much of it in this series - and that's saying something! I also thought that the book was unnecessarily long. It could easily have been a good 100 pages shorter, without losing any plot. Maybe that's because not much happens in the story. I kept wondering when things would get going but it never really did. I definitely felt that this novel suffered from second-book-syndrome in that it was just filler until the next book came out.
I also felt that there just weren't enough questions answered. The first novel left me with a lot of questions and I was hoping this one would provide some answers. Instead, it presented more questions. The story also lacked a solid backstory. I wanted to know more about how things got to be the way they were but that didn't really happen, which was disappointing. I wanted more mythology and more explanations about mythology for those people who perhaps weren't as familiar with mythology. This was definitely lacking in both books in this series.
Overall, this novel, while an improvement from the first in the series, was still not what I wanted or expected. Since it has gotten better, I'm going to give it a 2/5 stars. But I don't think I'm going to be sticking to this series.
September 23, 2017
Rating: 4/5
I received this E-ARC via NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I will start this off by saying: I enjoyed reading this book. I essentially picked it up and read it in one sitting. I was intrigued and I wanted to know what was going to happen in the book. Here's a few issues I took all, the same:
The book is a sequel and the publisher didn't make it clear this was the case. I've wavered between 3.5 and 4 star for the rating, but I figure if I had read the first one I would waver closer to the 4. So I'm rounding up to be fair. For the most part, it didn't impede my reading of the story. But having read the first book might have filled in some of the holes that I felt existed in character development.
The main character is a little Mary Sue to what we expect in characters in dystopian novels. The Katniss Everdeen type. I would have liked to see something a little more...original. Not even talking about appearance, but in personality. It didn't get to a point that irked my reading of the story, but it would have been nice to have something a little different.
I didn't take an issue with character development for relationships, it generally seemed to flow well. There were times I felt like some of the characters went from hot to cold and the character's didn't necessarily react to the change as much as I felt that they should have.
That said, I have to give it to the author - from this book, it appears she has very clearly thought out this world. I never felt confused reading descriptions or had issues imagining what I was seeing. And I have to give it to the author for that - too often I just skip descriptions because I'm not able to understand the descriptions or picture it at all. At the same time, she didn't go to the Dickens extreme where the detail makes me want to just punch myself. And in the end, I think this is the most important piece in what makes a book good - because when the author cares enough to develop it so thoroughly, it's often pretty easy to get lost in the book yourself.
I received this E-ARC via NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I will start this off by saying: I enjoyed reading this book. I essentially picked it up and read it in one sitting. I was intrigued and I wanted to know what was going to happen in the book. Here's a few issues I took all, the same:
The book is a sequel and the publisher didn't make it clear this was the case. I've wavered between 3.5 and 4 star for the rating, but I figure if I had read the first one I would waver closer to the 4. So I'm rounding up to be fair. For the most part, it didn't impede my reading of the story. But having read the first book might have filled in some of the holes that I felt existed in character development.
The main character is a little Mary Sue to what we expect in characters in dystopian novels. The Katniss Everdeen type. I would have liked to see something a little more...original. Not even talking about appearance, but in personality. It didn't get to a point that irked my reading of the story, but it would have been nice to have something a little different.
I didn't take an issue with character development for relationships, it generally seemed to flow well. There were times I felt like some of the characters went from hot to cold and the character's didn't necessarily react to the change as much as I felt that they should have.
That said, I have to give it to the author - from this book, it appears she has very clearly thought out this world. I never felt confused reading descriptions or had issues imagining what I was seeing. And I have to give it to the author for that - too often I just skip descriptions because I'm not able to understand the descriptions or picture it at all. At the same time, she didn't go to the Dickens extreme where the detail makes me want to just punch myself. And in the end, I think this is the most important piece in what makes a book good - because when the author cares enough to develop it so thoroughly, it's often pretty easy to get lost in the book yourself.
March 17, 2018
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
***
This book is not for everyone, I had some reservations after reading the first one (I was taken by surprise the violence in that book) but I was also dying to know more. This book is definitely not as violent (in many different ways) as the first one but it still has its fair share of violence and death. Our nameless MC is on her own now since the death of her mentor when thrown out of Fates so violently and we find her exploring the labyrinth and also aware of more groups other than Fates. Unfortunately these two groups are at odds and Nameless finds herself in the center of the dispute with no way of knowing who is lying to her and who is telling her the truth.
Stronger and more wise than she was in book one our MC still has a lot to learn just how much the labyrinth can change a person and still makes some pretty frustrating decisions. Still a huge improvement to who she was in book one, that being said. I still have absolutely no answers to anything from book one and only more questions due to book two and my heart really can’t handle cliffhanger endings the likes of which this one stopped at. Seriously, I’ll be haunted by this because I have to wait for book three to find out what’s going to happen after that ending. It’s not fair.
Do I recommend this book? Yes, just not to everyone. Like my review says at the start, it’s not a book for everyone. At least not something I’d give without warning as to what to expect at least.
Thanks for giving me this chance to read.
***
This book is not for everyone, I had some reservations after reading the first one (I was taken by surprise the violence in that book) but I was also dying to know more. This book is definitely not as violent (in many different ways) as the first one but it still has its fair share of violence and death. Our nameless MC is on her own now since the death of her mentor when thrown out of Fates so violently and we find her exploring the labyrinth and also aware of more groups other than Fates. Unfortunately these two groups are at odds and Nameless finds herself in the center of the dispute with no way of knowing who is lying to her and who is telling her the truth.
Stronger and more wise than she was in book one our MC still has a lot to learn just how much the labyrinth can change a person and still makes some pretty frustrating decisions. Still a huge improvement to who she was in book one, that being said. I still have absolutely no answers to anything from book one and only more questions due to book two and my heart really can’t handle cliffhanger endings the likes of which this one stopped at. Seriously, I’ll be haunted by this because I have to wait for book three to find out what’s going to happen after that ending. It’s not fair.
Do I recommend this book? Yes, just not to everyone. Like my review says at the start, it’s not a book for everyone. At least not something I’d give without warning as to what to expect at least.
Thanks for giving me this chance to read.
August 27, 2017
Cover is intriguing although it reminds me of the lion in the Lion, Witch, Wardrobe. Right off the bat you know you're ready a different book with the mention of the Executioner, Fey, and Screecher-Eaters. The story is from the perspective of Fey Bell, a 16 year old girl who has been banished into the labyrinth where survival is difficult. There are lots of characters and several groups which are at odds with each other: The Fates & Icarii, the Kleos, and the Harmonians, as well as Daedalum. I had difficulty falling along during the first half of the book with many questions. What is the name of Fey Bell and why do others sometimes call her Clara? How did all these kids get to this place, and why? What is a Fallen Day? Some of these questions are answered, and some aren't. The text is occasionally difficult to tell if the character is talking to self, to others, or thinking. Action wise, this book is great. Lots of weapons, fighting both monsters and people, sabotage, and a rescue. Fey Bell has brief romantic interactions with 2 guys, Ryan and Theo, but which one is telling the truth? With two sections: Divide and Conquer, the book has a dramatic ending that is set up to start the next book. I'm rooting for Fey Bell. Would be great if the book included an illustrated map of the territories.
September 3, 2017
I'd bump this up to 2.5 stars just based on the premise behind the book, but the book overall? Utter chaos. Multiple characters are introduced in a flood throughout the book, with no back story to build them as "people" and the lack of detail in describing the surroundings left me unable to create the pictures in my mind that normally help me relate to a book. There's a labyrinth, and apparently three factions: Fates, Kleos, and Harmonia, but there's no back story until about the last 3 pages and it ends so abruptly that it left me not wanting to read the next book at all, but kind of wishing I had back the time I spent reading it. The main protagonist is referred to as 3 different names throughout the entire book and you never find out what her actual name is. She also blames herself for the death of 2 people (possibly children, that's never explained either), but we never find out why. As for formatting, I think because this wasn't really meant to be a Kindle book, it wasn't formatted properly. There were no "" marks around when someone was speaking throughout the entire book so it was nearly impossible to tell if the thought was being said out loud, or just in the characters mind. I could have gotten past that part if the rest of the book hadn't been so utterly confusing, but taking that and the book itself and I'd give this one a pass.
January 3, 2025
The book is very enjoyable, if somewhat flawed. I was tempted to give it three stars, because if you look at it from a technical perspective it’s got a little more than its share of plot holes, unmotivated character actions, and moments that make you question the intelligence of the protagonist - however I’ve decided on four, as, if you overlook those elements, the actual soul and emotion of the story is very enjoyable. The characters are mostly fairly strong, the pace is managed excellently (though I was a little confused as I assumed this was the last book in the series), there is mystery, mistrust, intrigue, and revelation abound - overall, it’s a great time and I found myself eagerly turning the pages by the end.
I do feel I should warn potential readers (and this bit may be a slight spoiler but I’ll try to keep it vague) - the book contains something of a romance arc between the protagonist and a character who was… not so nice to her in the last book, which I found rather questionable, and others may find uncomfortable. I was able to overlook it, but you should judge for yourself whether you can.
I don’t want to leave it on that melancholy note, because it’s a very minor portion of the book, and the rest of it was mostly very tactful and enjoyable. I look forward to book 3, Caighlan!
I do feel I should warn potential readers (and this bit may be a slight spoiler but I’ll try to keep it vague) - the book contains something of a romance arc between the protagonist and a character who was… not so nice to her in the last book, which I found rather questionable, and others may find uncomfortable. I was able to overlook it, but you should judge for yourself whether you can.
I don’t want to leave it on that melancholy note, because it’s a very minor portion of the book, and the rest of it was mostly very tactful and enjoyable. I look forward to book 3, Caighlan!
September 19, 2017
** I received a copy of this Book for an Honest Review **
She's been alone in the Labyrinth for months. Now with her new survival skills she must search for a way out. Monsters in be Labyrinth aren't the hard part anymore, it's the hoards of new and old untrust worthy people that keep appearing to "help" her on the quest.
At first I got this book not realizing it was the second in the series. After reading half and being bored and confused I went searching for Children of Icarus. After being sucked into the first book I read this one in one sitting, and now am stuck waiting for the third. I love that this book follows that narrator as she matures. She goes from a blubbering littler girl in the first book to setting her sights on a real goal in the second. She becomes strong and doesn't need to hide anymore. I love that the characters that were my favourite changed into the most hated. It kept me guessing. I am still rooting for Theo to be a good guy however. I have a lot of questions about the final battle between the Kleio and Harmonia that I hope are answered in the next book, and I would love to find out more about the Mud Maid.
Will be waiting patiently for the next one!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
She's been alone in the Labyrinth for months. Now with her new survival skills she must search for a way out. Monsters in be Labyrinth aren't the hard part anymore, it's the hoards of new and old untrust worthy people that keep appearing to "help" her on the quest.
At first I got this book not realizing it was the second in the series. After reading half and being bored and confused I went searching for Children of Icarus. After being sucked into the first book I read this one in one sitting, and now am stuck waiting for the third. I love that this book follows that narrator as she matures. She goes from a blubbering littler girl in the first book to setting her sights on a real goal in the second. She becomes strong and doesn't need to hide anymore. I love that the characters that were my favourite changed into the most hated. It kept me guessing. I am still rooting for Theo to be a good guy however. I have a lot of questions about the final battle between the Kleio and Harmonia that I hope are answered in the next book, and I would love to find out more about the Mud Maid.
Will be waiting patiently for the next one!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 12, 2018
I feel terrible because when I requested this from Netgalley I had no idea this was a sequel to another. I never recall reading that and I thought this book sounded absolutely amazing. I couldn't wait to check it out. Now while that left me at a disadvantage, I won't let that influence this review.
I loved how unique this book was. The main character herself was unlike someone I've read about. I thought it was epic to know that she basically only cares for her own survival which made her have such a strong female lead.
That is what I noticed first while reading this. Another thing that caught my attention was how well written the story line was. Now, I did have some questions but I figured it was due to the fact that this was book 2, therefore I set those questions aside until I can complete book 1. The main thing that I had troubles with was knowing the labrynith itself. Which I had assumed was all described in book 1. so again, I tried not to let this cloud my judgment on this review. The second half of this book picked up so well that it was kind of hard to put down. Our main character gets herself involved with conflicts and it was great to see the pace of the book pick up a bit.
Over all I would recommend this book, haha only after someone had read the first one.
I loved how unique this book was. The main character herself was unlike someone I've read about. I thought it was epic to know that she basically only cares for her own survival which made her have such a strong female lead.
That is what I noticed first while reading this. Another thing that caught my attention was how well written the story line was. Now, I did have some questions but I figured it was due to the fact that this was book 2, therefore I set those questions aside until I can complete book 1. The main thing that I had troubles with was knowing the labrynith itself. Which I had assumed was all described in book 1. so again, I tried not to let this cloud my judgment on this review. The second half of this book picked up so well that it was kind of hard to put down. Our main character gets herself involved with conflicts and it was great to see the pace of the book pick up a bit.
Over all I would recommend this book, haha only after someone had read the first one.
September 30, 2018
I was really excited for this book because I loved the first one so much, and I'm glad this wasn't disappointing! It took me a while to get used to the writing style again (which actually helps with the characterization of the MC, as simple as it is), so at first I didn't like it, but the more I read, the more I found myself caught up in the story.
The MC is an interesting character, and I really loved learning more about her, and her relationship with other people. I also loved the plot twists and reveals and the conflicts. Generally, the book was evenly paced, and nothing felt too rushed or like it dragged on.
The one thing I would've changed is the MC's relationship with Elle (or Risa even). Look, she talks about dating boys and kissing boys like it's a chore, and doesn't really feel anything towards a certain boy when he kisses her, so the conclusion I came to was that she's gay. At first I thought gay for Elle, because of the way she talked about her, but I would've been fine with the MC in a relationship with any other girl. Hopefully that gets addressed in the next book!
But otherwise, I enjoyed reading this book, and I hope the sequel gets released soon!
The MC is an interesting character, and I really loved learning more about her, and her relationship with other people. I also loved the plot twists and reveals and the conflicts. Generally, the book was evenly paced, and nothing felt too rushed or like it dragged on.
The one thing I would've changed is the MC's relationship with Elle (or Risa even). Look, she talks about dating boys and kissing boys like it's a chore, and doesn't really feel anything towards a certain boy when he kisses her, so the conclusion I came to was that she's gay. At first I thought gay for Elle, because of the way she talked about her, but I would've been fine with the MC in a relationship with any other girl. Hopefully that gets addressed in the next book!
But otherwise, I enjoyed reading this book, and I hope the sequel gets released soon!
November 2, 2017
I, like many of the reviews I read, did not realize that this was the second in the series until after I started reading it. While it is possible to still enjoy this book as a stand-alone, I think it would definitely be best paired with the first and probably the one after (which has not been released or announced as of this writing). It really didn't take me long to catch on to what had happened in the story and understand dynamics in this one. That being said, it's a pretty intense ride. There is action from beginning to end and I had a hard time putting it down when bedtime rolled around. In a few ways it reminded me of the first Maze Runner book, which is the one I enjoyed the most. I will definitely be checking out the first book and watching for the continuation of the series.
I would like to thank the publisher, author, and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
I would like to thank the publisher, author, and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
September 4, 2017
A copy of this review can be found at Book Ink Reviews.
Part Maze Runner, part something else entirely, Smith delivers an epic for the young adult genre. Complete with a strong female lead and characters shrouded in shades of gray, we're left in a world built on the continual feeling of WTF?
Unfortunately, for the majority of the book this lends its hand towards making it dry, long, and confusing enough that we just don't care. We are thrown into a colorful world in the Labyrinth with descriptions of the different monsters and "Clara's" name for them. Beyond that, we have thoughts from her time before the labyrinth and I kept wondering if I accidentally jumped into the middle of a series without realizing it.
We have Fates, Harmonia, and Kleos. None of them are shining heroes that immediately deserve our loyalty as readers, but none of them are 100% evil. Because of this, you don't really know who to root for, and end up not really rooting for anyone but Fey Bell's small group of survivors.
We only had one question answered in Children of Daedala. ONE. I'm livid about that. But it was done well enough that I am now desperate for the rest of the answers and will be keeping an eye out for the sequel.
Should you read it? Maybe. If you like drawn out epics with lots of action, but so much mystery there seems to be no plot, go for it!4
Thank you to NetGalley, Caighlan Smith, and Capstone for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Part Maze Runner, part something else entirely, Smith delivers an epic for the young adult genre. Complete with a strong female lead and characters shrouded in shades of gray, we're left in a world built on the continual feeling of WTF?
Unfortunately, for the majority of the book this lends its hand towards making it dry, long, and confusing enough that we just don't care. We are thrown into a colorful world in the Labyrinth with descriptions of the different monsters and "Clara's" name for them. Beyond that, we have thoughts from her time before the labyrinth and I kept wondering if I accidentally jumped into the middle of a series without realizing it.
We have Fates, Harmonia, and Kleos. None of them are shining heroes that immediately deserve our loyalty as readers, but none of them are 100% evil. Because of this, you don't really know who to root for, and end up not really rooting for anyone but Fey Bell's small group of survivors.
We only had one question answered in Children of Daedala. ONE. I'm livid about that. But it was done well enough that I am now desperate for the rest of the answers and will be keeping an eye out for the sequel.
Should you read it? Maybe. If you like drawn out epics with lots of action, but so much mystery there seems to be no plot, go for it!4
Thank you to NetGalley, Caighlan Smith, and Capstone for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
September 30, 2017
I want it to be noted that I read this book not realizing it was a sequel. At the time of this review, I have not yet read Children of Icarus which I have 400% intentions of doing because this book was freaking AWESOME.
This book has monsters, a big ass maze, warring teenagers, Greek mythology, and characters that I have real and very raw emotions for!
The MC is a hardened, quiet, self-determined, and intelligent young woman who the reader is given no name for. Instead we know her as 'Fey Bell'. The strength is ridiculously admirable but her adolescent musings and emotions all pore through the cracks as well and holy cow I want her to be my best friend.
She's not the only character I have intense feelings though - Ryan, my gorgeous, scowling gem and Risa -but seriously I also want a Risa for myself, because she is precious and darling and dear me, have my children?
There will be monster slaying, there will be human slaying, there will be feuds and peril and serious serious trust issues (wouldn't you if EVERYONE HAD A SWORD OR SPEAR OR ARROW???).
My only gripe was that the world building - the stories of Icarus and why the Icarii, the characters backgrounds in Daedala, the losses that my beloved characters endured but I didn't - these are things that I wanted MORE of. But now, in hindsight and with the understanding that this was a sequel (I have NO IDEA how I missed this because it's the second thing mentioned on the book's NetGallery page? I am 130% assuming that I was distracted by the SO-SCRUMPTIOUS-I-WANNA-BITE-IT cover), I have faith that this has already been established in the first book of the series.
And so, I will be back with an update. CoI has already been ordered (at 3am this morning upon finishing CoD) and I will return with my update and hopefully so much further applause for Smith. Because honestly I am in love.
To see my Twitter ramblings for this book, click here.
A HUGE thank you for my ARC from NetGallery, Caighlan Smith, and Capstone!
"We feed traitors to the monsters"
This book has monsters, a big ass maze, warring teenagers, Greek mythology, and characters that I have real and very raw emotions for!
The MC is a hardened, quiet, self-determined, and intelligent young woman who the reader is given no name for. Instead we know her as 'Fey Bell'. The strength is ridiculously admirable but her adolescent musings and emotions all pore through the cracks as well and holy cow I want her to be my best friend.
She's not the only character I have intense feelings though - Ryan, my gorgeous, scowling gem and Risa -but seriously I also want a Risa for myself, because she is precious and darling and dear me, have my children?
There will be monster slaying, there will be human slaying, there will be feuds and peril and serious serious trust issues (wouldn't you if EVERYONE HAD A SWORD OR SPEAR OR ARROW???).
My only gripe was that the world building - the stories of Icarus and why the Icarii, the characters backgrounds in Daedala, the losses that my beloved characters endured but I didn't - these are things that I wanted MORE of. But now, in hindsight and with the understanding that this was a sequel (I have NO IDEA how I missed this because it's the second thing mentioned on the book's NetGallery page? I am 130% assuming that I was distracted by the SO-SCRUMPTIOUS-I-WANNA-BITE-IT cover), I have faith that this has already been established in the first book of the series.
And so, I will be back with an update. CoI has already been ordered (at 3am this morning upon finishing CoD) and I will return with my update and hopefully so much further applause for Smith. Because honestly I am in love.
To see my Twitter ramblings for this book, click here.
A HUGE thank you for my ARC from NetGallery, Caighlan Smith, and Capstone!
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