Reviews

Stats
Writing - 10/10
Plot - 6/10
Characters - 7/10
World-Building - 8/10

I loved book 1, and book 2 picked up right where the first left off, but the pace dropped off dramatically from book 1.

For the writing, I still thought it was just as beautiful as in book 1. It maintained the writing-style that I loved where I really felt like I was immersed in the world.

The plot, however, is where I feel book 2 really dropped off. The entirety of book 2 was longer than book 1, and the plot had already been drawn out. Here, it was severely drawn out. There was quite a bit that could have been taken out of the book and it would have accomplished the same goal. The underlying plot was mostly political as Iraya and Jazmyne worked to secure allies for Aiyca, but I felt that it really halted the story. It felt like it was way too long without much substance.

The characters also dropped off a bit for me. I felt that Jazmyne's development from book 1 was swept aside in book 2 and she reverted back to the person she was at the very beginning. I also felt that Iraya did not really progress as a character. She remained the same as she was at the end of book 1. Additionally, I felt that everything in Iraya's plot was far too easy for her, and Jazmyne's plot was extremely difficult. It was meant to be a point of contention between the two witches, but Iraya was always harsh with Jazmyne that she could never do anything right, and I couldn't really get on board with it.

Lastly, the world-building. It was still great, through we did not expand much on the world. The main idea was that we are battling monsters from beyond the veil, but that wasn't really expanded on much. We also only got hints of the Skylands and their island, but the book is still enjoyable without those details.

storykeeper_saga's review against another edition

Go to review page

tense fast-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

2.0

Sometimes a second book misses the mark so much it lowers the (good) rating of the first one. This book just was trying way too much and had too much going on. It feels like Ciannon had her favorite character and didn't care that half of what she was doing didn't fit previously established character. Same with almost all other characters. It just missed the mark so much in so many ways.

dandelion08's review against another edition

Go to review page

just to confusing not fun to read

evitaveda's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

“Every story is a lie until someone breathes truth into it.”

The sequel to Witches Steeped in Gold definitely upped the stakes, but it didn’t capture me in the same way the first one did.

There’s a lot of politics in this one and I feel like I was confused or not understanding things a lot of the time. The book is also almost 800 pages long, and when a lot of those pages were focused on politics, it did lose me a little bit.

What Smart does really well though, is character development. I have really enjoyed seeing how Jazmyne, Iraya and Kirdan have evolved throughout the story. I definitely liked all the character moments best - and any scene between Iraya and Jazmyne always sparked my excitement. Definitely wish there had been more of those. The very end of the book was full to the brim with exciting action. The betrayal, the heartache, in short, the whole ending of the book was presented in a very engaging way.

All in all a satisfying end to the duology, and I’m looking forward to picking up future books from this author.

Some great quotes:

“This world will be saved by those who love, not destroy.”

“War makes heroes out of few and villains out of most.”

“Love is the anchor that keeps us living.”

“There is no magic more powerful than self-belief.”