The complexity of the world these authors have created continues to keep me engaged and immersed. With the reveals and events of book one, the narrative has moved on from the con and fully into the macro-plot which cleverly expands the already intricate magic systems. Even though I will keep this review brief to avoid any spoilers, I have lots of thoughts about the book, all of them good. I am so glad this book lived up to my own
expectations based on the first book and that it kept me from falling back into an epic fantasy reading slump after a DNF.
This was not a bad book but it’s also not a book I will remember for long. The main character lives her life in an area with a magically created wall, an area populated by the ruling fae who have elemental powers. Two other races, witches and humans, live in subjugation while others are not supposed to exist inside the wall, others like the siren that the main character is. She uses a sort of magic to hide her identity but end up
becoming a guard to the crown prince so that she can uncover who is threatening to reveal the identity of her sister who is also in hiding but is not a siren. Of course, the prince turns out to be the love interest and also someone the main character should not trust. (I really do not like him.) As far as the events of the plot go, just imagine all the typical twists and turns of YA fantasy and you have this book. I will not hold onto this special edition or continue in the series.
I loved this book! Coming on the heels of a book that did nothing for me, this narrative was a breath of fresh air. I would describe this as cozy fantasy with stakes, just the right amount. The main character, Leo, faces the start of his final year of magical university on thin ice; if he messes up one more time, he’ll lose the opportunity to graduate. The reader quickly learns that he limits himself to small magic, refusing to write any grand magic
spells after something went terribly wrong the first time and every other time he tried before he vowed off of grand magic. He ends up partnered with a man who Leo does not really like, sort of, Sebastian Grimm, a man who lives up to his name which annoys Leo. Thus Leo, while trying to annoy Grimm, makes a mistake which results in a spell that connects them in a increasing way, a spell that could get both of them in serious trouble. I love how Doocy developed the spell, both Leo and Sebastian’s characters, as well as their relationship. That ending!
This ended up not being the story for me. I think that the author did a fairly good job establishing and developing the main character. The world and the rest of the characters? Not so much. The plot is basically just Ocean’s 8 but on another planet. The side characters end up relegated to their stereotypical heist roles like hacker or acrobat. Apart from mentions of things like mods or the fact that the planet is basically a
space station, the world read like our normal world. This book was fine but nothing exceptional, unfortunately.
I did not expect to cry as many others have described in their reviews since I rarely do yet this book packed gut punch after gut punch. On its own, I do not consider this a 5 star book. However, this book should never be considered on its own. The entire narrative weaves its way throughout the complex tapestry of the original trilogy. Pluck one thread and see that everything is connected. This book adds so many layers to
the books before fitting in seamlessly by adding hard-hitting context. Collin’s writing skill matches few others I have ever read. I cannot say more as I want to avoid all possible spoilers but will end with this. I see an original trilogy reread in my near future.
At the conclusion of this trilogy, I still see all of the positive aspects that engaged me in the first place and kept me intrigued through the first third to half of this book. By the time I got to the end, however, I felt almost exhausted by the narrative, the seemingly never ending series of betrayals, magical twists and ceaseless violence. That probably comes partly due to the fact that I read this book much slower than the first two since it
has never gotten an audiobook produced. I still appreciate the trilogy as a whole and how Villoso built the entire saga. I just ended up a little dissatisfied by the end which I find unfortunate.
I struggled with my own reason for reading memoirs while reading this one. I stand by the fact that listening to people’s stories is crucial, especially for building empathy. When this book started, I immediately dislike the author. That, unfortunately, did not change as I kept reading. I persisted even though I seriously considered DNFing, hoping something in the narrative would turn a corner and also because I hoped to
build my own ability to extend empathy. I really tried. Unfortunately, the entire memoir persisted in navel-gazing and also focused far more on her romantic struggles, addiction issues, and writing than the care and feeding centered in the title and focused on in the synopsis.
This was a quick, fun read that I picked up to catch up in my 30 in 30 challenge (30 total graphic novels or manga read in the month of April). It’s a slice of life series starring three British college students. I will enjoy picking up these issues (I have at least 19 more) when I have a need for readathons or when I feel in the mood.
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