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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
This was a solid follow-up to Assassin's Heart. I like that it's not a direct sequel, but at the same time I really wish I knew more about what happened between the two books. I didn't like Allegra as much as I liked Lea and I struggled a little bit with how Lea's character had developed, but I appreciated the arc of Allegra's growth over the course of the book.
I loved the expansion of the world and the travelers. I loved Nev.
I did have a couple of issues. One was with the first couple of chapters. If I hadn't just reread Assassin's Heart I wonder if I would feel the same way, but they were so exposition heavy. I understand the need to bring in the backstory for people who hadn't read the first one or hadn't read it for a while, but it just felt a little info-dumpy to me. Once I got past that though, the writing pulled me in as much as it did for Assassin's Heart.
The second big thing had to do with the end so I'll put it in spoilers here:I am still unsure what happened at the end. Did the gods just decide to stop fighting? Why would Safraella let the mother god heal Lea? I understand that it had something to do with Allegra throwing away the necklace, but everything felt very confusing and ... too easily wrapped up? What will happen next? Will Allegra worship all 4 gods now? Or will she still worship Safraella while Nev worships the 3? It just ended too abruptly for me and left me with too many questions.
I will definitely read other things by Sarah, I just didn't enjoy this quite as much as the first one.
I loved the expansion of the world and the travelers. I loved Nev.
I did have a couple of issues. One was with the first couple of chapters. If I hadn't just reread Assassin's Heart I wonder if I would feel the same way, but they were so exposition heavy. I understand the need to bring in the backstory for people who hadn't read the first one or hadn't read it for a while, but it just felt a little info-dumpy to me. Once I got past that though, the writing pulled me in as much as it did for Assassin's Heart.
The second big thing had to do with the end so I'll put it in spoilers here:
I will definitely read other things by Sarah, I just didn't enjoy this quite as much as the first one.
I ended up enjoying this book much more than I thought I would. I had trouble getting into it at first and was not sure if I would actually make the effort to try and finish it. I am glad that I did.
For the majority of this book, I really did not like Allegra because it didn't seem like she realized what she had in life. Then when she started to realize that she was lucky all those things had happened to her.
The part that I didn't like in the ending was when Lea came in. Bringing the ghosts just didn't seem to fit into the personality that we saw in the first book or in the beginning of this one when she is older. Lea knew what bringing the ghosts had cost the first time, so I don't believe it fits her to do it a second time, but it did sort of seem like Safraella was using Lea's mind and body to bring the ghosts so that could have been it.
The part that I didn't like in the ending was when Lea came in. Bringing the ghosts just didn't seem to fit into the personality that we saw in the first book or in the beginning of this one when she is older. Lea knew what bringing the ghosts had cost the first time, so I don't believe it fits her to do it a second time, but it did sort of seem like Safraella was using Lea's mind and body to bring the ghosts so that could have been it.
Amazing. I couldn't put it down!!!! Even better than the first book, which is rare. I want more!!
This was an excellent sequel. I was left somewhat unsure of how I felt about the first book, Assassin's Heart, so I'm glad there was more to the story. It dwells a lot on teenage angst, but it's slightly less irritating because of the secrets surrounding the main character. In a lot of ways, Allegra is being used as a pawn by the people who should care for her. At the same time, she's making stupid teenager decisions and rebelling against her overprotective family, some of the few people who aren't actively trying to use her to achieve their own ends(not that that is obvious all the time, because again, SECRETS).
Super engaging read, a nice dip into the darker side of YA.
Super engaging read, a nice dip into the darker side of YA.