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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
I love love love these books - the covers are stunning, the stories are so full of African folklore and I just love them so much. These are beautiful books to get lost in and leave the world behind. Just like the first book it feels like the author put true care into the folklore and traditions to try and get everything just right. The characters are strong, powerful, and even better than in their first appearance!
This is 3.5 starts rounded up to 4. It was a good book. Some highlights were the fighting scenes and the world building. Some of the not as great part was too many characters to follow and there wasn’t much time in the water as I would’ve liked. It felt like some characters just popped up and left. Overall tho it was a good story and I enjoyed it.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
I am prefacing this by acknowledging that loss of a star is a very personal opinion. I feel like sometimes too many books end too happily with everyone getting what they want. I'm not saying there isn't sadness and loss in this book, but it does have a bit of a "and they lived happily ever after" ending. Essentially what I'm complaining about is that I'm in my 40's reading a young/new adult title.
Over all, this was a beautiful story full of depth and darkness and beauty.
Over all, this was a beautiful story full of depth and darkness and beauty.
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Started reading it before realising it was the 2nd in the series
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
fast-paced
As in the first book, the pacing is fast and there's plenty of action. I felt like fast pace didn't work quite as well this time, since there were more moments of tragedy that lost some of their impact because Simi is racing against the clock to save the world and despite her crushing grief, she still has to keep soldiering on. The twists and set-backs of the main plot line still kept the story engaging. I didn't remember all the side characters right away, but as we re-met some of them from the first book, more of it came back to me - I think some of this is on my faulty memory and some on the uneven character development - and I still liked everyone.
I really enjoyed seeing so much African folklore added in to make this a very rich fantasy setting rooted in very real historical period. From big set pieces like the orisas and ajogun, to one-off enemies like the vampire-esque adze, to the inclusion of traditional ritual practices in the village - it all contributed to a setting that felt very alive with magic and history.
I'm not sure if the author still has more books planned for this series. This one again wrapped up the main storyline, and delivered a pretty satisfying conclusion for Simi and Kola. Their relationship definitely leaned into some YA tropes and it irked me that she would occasionally refer to him as "the boy" in her first-person narration (as if it's his title? like "the orisa" or "the iyalawo" but "the boy" is just awkward?), but honestly I still liked them, found them more mature than many YA lovers, and was rooting for them from the start. They are both determined to stay true to themselves and dedicate themselves to helping their people. We did leave one character's fate that I thought would get more resolution, rather up in the air (Olokun, who we don't hear from much after him starring in moving the first quarter's action ). There's definitely also room for Simi to have more adventures! So it seems like there's openings here for future books.
I really enjoyed seeing so much African folklore added in to make this a very rich fantasy setting rooted in very real historical period. From big set pieces like the orisas and ajogun, to one-off enemies like the vampire-esque adze, to the inclusion of traditional ritual practices in the village - it all contributed to a setting that felt very alive with magic and history.
I'm not sure if the author still has more books planned for this series. This one again wrapped up the main storyline, and delivered a pretty satisfying conclusion for Simi and Kola. Their relationship definitely leaned into some YA tropes and it irked me that she would occasionally refer to him as "the boy" in her first-person narration (as if it's his title? like "the orisa" or "the iyalawo" but "the boy" is just awkward?), but honestly I still liked them, found them more mature than many YA lovers, and was rooting for them from the start. They are both determined to stay true to themselves and dedicate themselves to helping their people. We did leave one character's fate that I thought would get more resolution, rather up in the air (
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No