Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - Trailer Park Trickster

Well, this was... pretty different from the first book, even though it's a direct continuation of the same story. A lot of the things I enjoyed about White Trash Warlock are still here: the awesome "parallel worlds" setting with its awesome rules, the Tarot-themed elven courts, the magic, the complex politics between all the supernatural beings, and that whole vibe of big powers placing people as pawns on a cosmic chessboard. I very much enjoyed Adam's storyline, the juxtaposition/intersection of the mundane and the magical in the mystery plot that follows his aunt's death, and the way he continued reforging bonds with his estranged family.

What I didn't love was the other part of the story. I liked Vic in the previous book, but once he become a prominent POV character, a lot of the engagement kind of fell away. Somehow, he turned out to be flatter than I expected. I wasn't a fan of "splitting the party" and having Vic wander off a lot into the elven lands without Adam. I think a big part of that was that it was more boring to see those magical landscapes from the POV of a near-complete outsider, someone discovering this stuff for himself for the first time. Through Adam's eyes, all those dangerous wonders had an added mistique because he was already familiar with them and *still* constantly discovering something new. I would've also preferred to see certain big events in Arden's and Silver's storylines through Adam's eyes rather than Vic's, because while Vic does build his own rapport with both of them, it can't beat Adam's dynamic with Arden developed in the first book, or what Adam's history with Silver adds to their present interactions. Adam's relationship with Vic also kind of meandered throughout the book, and not just while they spent those big chunks of time apart, but when they were together in a scene, too.

Honestly, the way the split into two POVs here was a disappointment compared to the POV split in the book one, because here it was mainly just "A is here doing X, B is there doing Y, then X and Y storylines intersect," which is a pretty normal thing to do for sure! Except compared to how Bobby's chapters in the first book turned Adam into an unreliable narrator and vise versa and showcased how different a shared history can be... it just felt flat.

Nevertheless, there were a lot of intriguing moving parts to the plot, a lot of unanswered questions that I'd love to figure out the answers to, and once again, a tense cliffhanger. So I very much intend to finish the trilogy. I also suspect that a lot of the weaknesses I saw in this book wouldn't bother me so much if I wasn't comparing it to all the things the first book did better!

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pvbobrien's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

3.5

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frantic_vampire's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I love that this is the second book in the series and I’m so blown away by it! The story was not what I was expecting and also exactly what I needed it to be. This book was kind of like an emotional pinball machine, bouncing from one disaster to another. But damn, did it have a satisfying but also cliffhanger ending.

I loved that we got to see so much of the Binder’s family history and that we got to see more of Adam’s family. Even if they are a truly fucked up tangled mess. I also really liked that we got to see so much more of Vic and his developing powers! I’m super excited to see where that goes. Also! The things happening with Silver and Argent?? I really need that next book now.

I really enjoyed reading this one and I can’t wait for the next book in the series! If you love urban fantasy books, this is definitely a series to check out. And I’m giving this one a solid four and a half stars.

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littlesmaug's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny 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

5.0

Please find my full review here: https://littlesmaug.wordpress.com/2022/02/01/review-trailer-park-trickster-by-david-r-slayton/

This book was incredible and if you have not read this series yet, please hop on it immediately. I used to think that a book being "fast paced" was an inherently negative thing, but this one reminded me of how nuanced that is. While I feel the first book was a bit more medium, this one was fast without sacrificing plot or character development. That was often my issue with books being too fast paced... I felt that the plot would climax and conclude without satisfaction. This book was nothing but satisfying (yes, even the cliffhanger).

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