In the second book in this series, author Megan Reyes almost immediately reverses the gathering of the four young heroes from the first book and sends them all their separate ways. There is a lot of history and events packed into this novel. Many new characters are introduced and they all seem to have a complicated back history–of which the reader only learns bits and pieces. The existing characters seem to develop new abilities and roles; character motivations are mixed. Yes, there is a lot going on in this book and don’t expect resolution by the last page. The author is furiously throwing the ingredients together, but the final dish is not yet revealed. The flow is a bit unconventional and unpredictable, which is quite engaging.
This remains an exciting fantasy series with some flawed characters that will just break the reader’s heart. A page-turner for sure, there will be at least one character that the reader can connect with. Highly recommended read for young fantasy readers!
Review of a Digital Advance Reading Copy provided by the Publisher
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: None
Violence/Gore: Report that magic caused and explosion; characters purposely infected with a disease/illness by opposing military force resulting in severe illness and other magical consequences; reference to previous events from prior book; character threatened with knifepoint to the neck; recounting of historical event resulting in the death of thousands; character held against will; character roughly handled by soldiers; character confesses to killing people; character learns who killed a parent and she expresses a verbal threat; peril; character(s) crash from a great height with minor injuries; character uses magic to kill a group of people, non-detailed; older character hits younger character in the mouth; character uses magic aggressively causing injury and extensive damage to property; characters attacked by a beast; report of the death of a family member; characters learn that someone has extracted the heart of a magical creature to use it for a spell, method not described–just end result is stated.
Sex/Nudity: Girl says something is a love story; older character talks to a younger character in general terms about romantic love; character implies that a girl and a boy have a romantic history.
Mature Subject Matter:
Death of a family member, war, political conflict, family issues, banishment, theft, one minor character is referred to using non-binary pronouns (this passage may present a small reading challenge for emerging readers), biological warfare (equivalent of),
Alcohol/Drug Use:
Magic potions and elixirs, character rendered unconscious with something similar to chloroform.
