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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
This second novel in the Waxways YA fantasy trilogy has quintessential middle volume problems, laying foundations for the conclusion ahead at the expense of the immediate story at hand. It also represents a significant step down in quality from its predecessor, which benefited from the tight focus of a wilderness survival tale as the characters battled their way home to their fortified city-state through a succession of dangerous outside magics. In lieu of repeating that premise and stranding the survivors again, author Scott Reintgen takes the more reasonable approach of following them through certain political intrigues that were established as background notes (and given prominence by the cliffhanger ending) in the previous title. Unfortunately, the ensuing execution isn't nearly as compelling.
In order to expand his canvas, the writer invents a new rival house whose heirs escaped its destruction as children by fleeing to exile in a remote land. These siblings make sense as potential allies for the returning protagonist Ren, but their introduction feels as abrupt as when A Song of Ice and Fire / Game of Thrones suddenly swerved to cast the distant kingdom of Dorne as a relevant player in the action. Splitting across three POV figures moreover blunts the effectiveness of the primary heroine's narrative, and the schemes that the trio devise together to take down their common enemies seem too thin to succeed the way they do, relying on slim odds and lucky coincidence without apparent contingency options for failure. When everything goes more or less according to plan regardless, it all reads as a fairly perfunctory achievement.
The complicated romance and the ways in which the girl feels torn between her heart and her dreams of revenge remain appealing, and I imagine I'll probably read the final novel whenever it comes out. But this is pretty middling as far as sequels go.
[Content warning for gore.]
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In order to expand his canvas, the writer invents a new rival house whose heirs escaped its destruction as children by fleeing to exile in a remote land. These siblings make sense as potential allies for the returning protagonist Ren, but their introduction feels as abrupt as when A Song of Ice and Fire / Game of Thrones suddenly swerved to cast the distant kingdom of Dorne as a relevant player in the action. Splitting across three POV figures moreover blunts the effectiveness of the primary heroine's narrative, and the schemes that the trio devise together to take down their common enemies seem too thin to succeed the way they do, relying on slim odds and lucky coincidence without apparent contingency options for failure. When everything goes more or less according to plan regardless, it all reads as a fairly perfunctory achievement.
The complicated romance and the ways in which the girl feels torn between her heart and her dreams of revenge remain appealing, and I imagine I'll probably read the final novel whenever it comes out. But this is pretty middling as far as sequels go.
[Content warning for gore.]
Like this review?
--Throw me a quick one-time donation here!
https://ko-fi.com/lesserjoke
--Subscribe here to support my writing and weigh in on what I read next!
https://patreon.com/lesserjoke
--Follow along on Goodreads here!
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6288479-joe-kessler
--Or click here to browse through all my reviews!
https://lesserjoke.home.blog
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
If the story was freed from the nods to being up on the cultural controversies it would’ve been much better… instead the references to sex, cursing, a random trans character, and such distracted from the main plot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Sexual content, Transphobia, Alcohol
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
This was a fun sequel to the first, still dark academia vibes. I can't tell if I love it, I think I just like it. It feels a bit hard to get into at times, but has enough moments that keep you on your toes that you want to keep reading. I liked the Ava twist, but I do feel like sometimes Ren is almost too smart that something is gonna bite her in the butt. Which the weird epilogue sounds like it might just do that, has her mom been playing her?!