Reviews

"'Not just any pirates.' She whispered the next few words the same way Tor used to say Night Witch. 'The Calavera.'"

Emblem Island: Curse of the Forgotten City by Alex Aster was a fresh and fun sequel toCurse of the Night Witch. The book, for me, was better than book one, although some of the same flaws were still there.

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
Type: 2nd in a duology
POV: 1 POV, third person, past tense
Age Rating: 8-12 years old

~Synopsis~

After unwillingly inheriting all of the Night Witch’s abilities, Tor Luna is the most powerful person on Emblem Island—though he doesn’t want power at all. Fresh from their last adventure, a girl from a forgotten underwater city named Vesper, with a water-breathing emblem washes ashore—with a warning. Pirates are coming to attack Emblem Island. Tor, Melda, Engle, and Vesper set off on a new quest to find a pearl that controls the sea. They must find it before the Calavera pirates, otherwise their world will be doomed forever.

"But the Calavera did not just want treasure, they wanted power."

~Writing and Setting~

Aster's writing style in this book is once again very elementary. But, it was an improvement from last time. The new quest flowed well, even with simple writing. The new ocean setting was completely different from the last book, but in a good way. The port towns were vivid, the ocean was strong, and the cities underwater were truly breathtaking. Asters world-building will never not amaze me. And the new book inside the book, the Book of Sea, was incredible, elevating the story even more.

"The sun was just a golden smudge far above. Fish traveled in layers, some closer to him, some near the surface—and he saw it all. An entire world above and beneath him."

~Plot~

This book was less interesting than the first one. Instead of just Tors life on the line, the entirety of the world was at risk. Even with these extra pressures, the adventure didn't hold as much as the first one. The roadblocks that were there were exciting and kept me at the edge of my seat, but something was just lacking.

"You can either accept it and use what she gave you to change the world for the better, or you can continue to feel sorry for yourself and try to forget what you are.”

~Characters~

Tor was more annoying this book. He was constantly ready to lose hope and turn around and he was too trusting of the new characters. Melda was the same—too smart for her own good. She was determined and made good use of her leadership emblem. Engle had the most character development of the three. You could see how the last book effected him. He was afraid and had nightmares about the last adventure. It was heartbreaking to see how he went from loving adventures to being terrified of them. Vesper, the new character, is from an underwater city. She was constantly telling Tor to not give up, and even with everything thrown at her, she held her chin up. She had a complex backstory and was sassy, emotional, and well-rounded. Captain Forecastle, a "good" pirate who the group teamed up with was a very stereotypical pirate. He had no depth whatsoever. He always said ye, and did nothing for the story except make me cringe.

"Captain Forecastle shrugged. “Never make a bargain with a pirate that isn’t inked in blood."

~Overall~

Cure of the Forgotten City was a solid sequel to Curse of the Night Witch. The idea was was good, but it wasn't executed the best. I'm not sure if there will be another book to the Emblem Island series, but if there is another one, the only reason I will read it is because Engle deserves the world.

"For the rest of her life, she lived on a ship, where water was always nearby. But, ultimately, it was in the water where she died."

3/5 stars