Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsTakes all the elements of the first book and magnifies them several times over.
Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2021
3.5* for an enjoyable read slightly spoiled by overly convenient last moment surprise magic assistance at the end.
This book takes the elements of the first book and doubles down on them.
The first one had love triangles, this one has love quad...no, love quin... no - love hairballs.
The first one had plot twists, this one has plot tornados.
The first one had a few touches of Deus Ex Machina, this one drops the Machina on your head.
The first one had bone magic, this one has bone and blood and god-level magic.
The relationships in this story went beyond complex, they are spaghetti with extra cheese. But they are still kind of fun if you can skim past the cheesiest parts (or if you like those parts.)
The intensity ramped up early like ... wow that is coming to a head too soon I wonder how that will ... wait, what!? That did NOT go like I expected ... oh, oooh, okay I can appreciate that.
So the pacing was odd - built to a climactic moment early, then ebbed for a while before building back up. Two loops on that roller coaster. But it was fun.
The ending came together nicely, and then out of nowhere something new appears to tie up the last of the loose ends. Well, the rest of the plot was great, so I can kind of give that a pass. But it definitely felt like the story was being made up as it went along and painted itself into a corner, and just needed a bit of author magic to save it.
Fun light read - if you like the style.
