Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

The Second Blind Son by Amy Harmon

2 reviews

haileybones's review against another edition

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adventurous sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

The First Girl Child, first in Amy Harmon’s Chronicles of Saylock series, impressed me with its solid action, romance, and world building when I devoured it this spring. After discovering the sequel took inspiration from two of my favorite Norse gods, Balder and Hodur, I was salivating. The Second Blind Son was my most anticipated read of the year and, unfortunately, it wasn’t the satisfying sequel I hoped for.  

The events of Blind Son are concurrent with Girl Child and both share a huge number of characters, settings, and events from beginning to end. There wasn't much effort to expand the world nor dive deeper into the established magic system. In fact, this story was so repetitive of Girl Child that I found myself wondering why it needed to be told at all. There just isn’t enough new information to justify so many painstaking retreads of entire scenes (including dialogue) from the first novel. 

I became even more frustrated when Ghisla, already described as beautiful and an incomparable singer, suddenly gains
mind reading powers
and a
sonic scream
. It’s boring when the main character, without stakes or sacrifice, has instant access to information and power she would otherwise never have.  

Both abilities are rarely mentioned after they’ve served their brief expositional narrative purpose. Why develop new scenes, characters, and settings when you could just abridge old ones with a deus ex machina and italics, am I right? /s  

The slog lets up here and there for new scenes in the second act – a midpoint battle or a stolen moment between lovers – but it’s not a wild ride or anything.  The battle in the climax is the same one as in Girl Child, which zaps any sense of tension or suspense in the outcome for any of the principal characters. There weren’t any mind-blowing reveals or deaths, no additional loose ends tied up.

The romantic aspects are somewhat redeeming, despite more repetitive parallels from Girl Child: A boy raised by a monk/adoptive father away from the corrupt world falls in love with his childhood friend, a girl with a mysterious past and a demure power. She is a damsel at the hands of politics and prophecy, which keep them physically apart for much of the story.
Oh, and also! Hod is King Banruud’s son, too. Yeah, just like Bayr. Really.
 

The emotional beats are there, though. Ghisla and Hod, especially in the enchanting early chapters, develop a believable connection for a fantasy romance. They are tender and sweet. The sex scenes are few and achieve a chaste steaminess - you won't find any true smut here. It was nice, but not exceptional.  

Blind Son foreshadows a potential third novel, focusing on the romance between Elayne and Aidan during the same time period. If that's the case, it won't be at the top of my list. Life's too short to read slight variations of the same thing over and over.

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megloveswords12's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-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

4.0


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