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jasmyn9's review
4.0
I really enjoyed learning more about the Air and Stone worlds. Each has their own particular weaknesses and strengths. And each Otherself is the same in so many ways, but also shaped by their unique environment into a unique person. The battle to save the Mirror Worlds is heating up, with Qeturah trying to sabotage the worlds for her own gain.
Air and Stone world really stood out to me. The fun steam-punk feeling of air with their dirigibles and technology, with the very almost sci-fi/fantasy feel of Stone with gargoyles and a more dystopian culture. As each Otherself meets their mate - in unexpected forms - I began to see the pattern. A pattern that was familiar without being repetitive.
I would have liked to see a little more from Fire and Water, but they just didn't have as large a part in this one. I'm curious to see how the game Qeturah is playing ends up. The powers of the Mirror Worlds are beginning to align against her.
*I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of this book*
Air and Stone world really stood out to me. The fun steam-punk feeling of air with their dirigibles and technology, with the very almost sci-fi/fantasy feel of Stone with gargoyles and a more dystopian culture. As each Otherself meets their mate - in unexpected forms - I began to see the pattern. A pattern that was familiar without being repetitive.
I would have liked to see a little more from Fire and Water, but they just didn't have as large a part in this one. I'm curious to see how the game Qeturah is playing ends up. The powers of the Mirror Worlds are beginning to align against her.
*I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of this book*
merlin_reads's review
2.0
Gah, this series is so frustrating. The concept is brilliant but it gets lost in the presentation.
Having saved Water, Leah turns to both Air and Stone to stop Qeturah from shattering their worlds. We also meet two more of Leah's otherselves and each of their soulmates. I don't know. It just seemed more of the same of the first. Leah travels to another mirror world, Leah falls in love with one of her otherselves soulmates, Leah contemplates whether she wants to go back to Fire. I get it, Leah is devastated by the loss of Gideon. But come on, stop putting yourself in these positions.
The second installment was a little more enjoyable for me, but barely. I wasn't so confused by the worlds and the magic explanations, but everything still felt jumbled and rushed. So far, Jasper is my favorite of all of the characters. Half man/half gargoyle - how can that not be interesting.
I still hold fast to the opinion that each world should have been it's own book. For a story of this scale with all new worlds, mashing them all together just made everything seem convoluted. I will read the final one because I'm just curious as to how this all ends and we finally get to meet the True World self.
I received an e-copy of this book from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Having saved Water, Leah turns to both Air and Stone to stop Qeturah from shattering their worlds. We also meet two more of Leah's otherselves and each of their soulmates. I don't know. It just seemed more of the same of the first. Leah travels to another mirror world, Leah falls in love with one of her otherselves soulmates, Leah contemplates whether she wants to go back to Fire. I get it, Leah is devastated by the loss of Gideon. But come on, stop putting yourself in these positions.
The second installment was a little more enjoyable for me, but barely. I wasn't so confused by the worlds and the magic explanations, but everything still felt jumbled and rushed. So far, Jasper is my favorite of all of the characters. Half man/half gargoyle - how can that not be interesting.
I still hold fast to the opinion that each world should have been it's own book. For a story of this scale with all new worlds, mashing them all together just made everything seem convoluted. I will read the final one because I'm just curious as to how this all ends and we finally get to meet the True World self.
I received an e-copy of this book from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
hereisbridget's review
4.0
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Guys. guys. GUYS. I’ve discovered that I’m more than just a contemporary girl. After reading Through Fire & Sea and Amid Wind & Stone by Nicole Luiken, I now consider myself a fantasy reader, too (as long as it has some romance in it because a leopard can’t completely change its spots)! I honestly didn’t know what to expect with this series. I requested Amid Wind & Stone on Netgalley before I even read the first book, so that made me a wee bit nervous. What if I didn’t like Through Fire & Sea? I already committed to review Amid Wind & Stone so that would be really unfortunate. But lucky for me, I loved both!
Amid Wind & Stone is just as well-written as Through Fire & Sea. The world building continues to be stellar, and the rules continue to be followed. The Wind and Stone worlds really came to life for me–even more so than the Fire and Water worlds. I felt more strongly for Dorotea and Audrey than I did for Leah and Holly in the first book because the stakes are much higher in Amid Wind & Stone. I mean, don’t get me wrong, the stakes are high for Leah and Holly, too–they still haven’t defeated Qeturah, and they can’t let her win. They vow to help their Stone and Wind otherselves protect their soulmates and get rid of Qeturah for good.
Anyways, during the opening scene, I felt every single emotion that Dorotea was feeling because the situation she found herself in (trapped in a cave in the dark–a cave that is only big enough to crawl through) was described in such great detail. I honestly almost had a panic attack because I felt Dorotea’s claustrophobia and fear–the writing was that good. Also, I thoroughly enjoyed my introduction to Audrey and her family–her family was probably my favorite out of the bunch. Audrey and Dorotea were much more hands on–the flying, the walking through stone, it was all very exciting. Their soulmates were more up my alley in terms of personality that Gideon and Ryan were–they were more rough around the edges and Piers was a seriously cute flirt.
I will admit that I started to form an extreme dislike of Leah in the middle of the book–when she took over Dorotea’s body. I could understand why she did that to Holly in the first book. I could understand that in her grief, she confused Ryan to be the same as Gideon, but I could not understand why she let the same thing happen again with Dorotea. She was letting Jasper fall in love with her when she knew that Jasper was Dorotea’s soulmate–not her. I didn’t want that. It felt wrong some how. I mean, luckily Leah came to her senses and Dorotea and Jasper reconciled their differences and let go of their prejudices. Once that happened, they became my favorite couple.
Also, I feel it’s important to point out that Qeturah doesn’t appear in this book as much as one would expect after reading the first one. She’s still the enemy, but the chaos she creates is behind the scenes if that makes sense. What I mean is that, bad things are happening, and it’s known that Qeturah is the reason, but Qeturah’s physical whereabouts are not known for quite some time. And I found the ending of Qeturah quite shocking. It was a good shock, but also a bit anti-climatic. I expected an epic fight to go down between Leah and Qeturah, but that’s not what happened. Although, I suppose that the epic fight is yet to come. After all, Qeturah was just a puppet. Malachi is the true evil in this fight for freedom. And that surprise tease at the end of book one? Not really addressed yet. I suspect–or at least I seriously hope–that we will take a visit to the True world next, and I suspect that it will be truly epic.
Overall, Through Fire & Sea and Amid Wind & Stone are truly thrilling and magical reads. The complexity of the characters and the world building is fantastic. The adventure is exciting, and I would really love to visit these fascinating worlds again. Definitely recommend for YA Fantasy readers.
Review originally posted @ Bridget's Book Bungalow: http://bit.ly/1QDYEF3
Guys. guys. GUYS. I’ve discovered that I’m more than just a contemporary girl. After reading Through Fire & Sea and Amid Wind & Stone by Nicole Luiken, I now consider myself a fantasy reader, too (as long as it has some romance in it because a leopard can’t completely change its spots)! I honestly didn’t know what to expect with this series. I requested Amid Wind & Stone on Netgalley before I even read the first book, so that made me a wee bit nervous. What if I didn’t like Through Fire & Sea? I already committed to review Amid Wind & Stone so that would be really unfortunate. But lucky for me, I loved both!
Amid Wind & Stone is just as well-written as Through Fire & Sea. The world building continues to be stellar, and the rules continue to be followed. The Wind and Stone worlds really came to life for me–even more so than the Fire and Water worlds. I felt more strongly for Dorotea and Audrey than I did for Leah and Holly in the first book because the stakes are much higher in Amid Wind & Stone. I mean, don’t get me wrong, the stakes are high for Leah and Holly, too–they still haven’t defeated Qeturah, and they can’t let her win. They vow to help their Stone and Wind otherselves protect their soulmates and get rid of Qeturah for good.
Anyways, during the opening scene, I felt every single emotion that Dorotea was feeling because the situation she found herself in (trapped in a cave in the dark–a cave that is only big enough to crawl through) was described in such great detail. I honestly almost had a panic attack because I felt Dorotea’s claustrophobia and fear–the writing was that good. Also, I thoroughly enjoyed my introduction to Audrey and her family–her family was probably my favorite out of the bunch. Audrey and Dorotea were much more hands on–the flying, the walking through stone, it was all very exciting. Their soulmates were more up my alley in terms of personality that Gideon and Ryan were–they were more rough around the edges and Piers was a seriously cute flirt.
I will admit that I started to form an extreme dislike of Leah in the middle of the book–when she took over Dorotea’s body. I could understand why she did that to Holly in the first book. I could understand that in her grief, she confused Ryan to be the same as Gideon, but I could not understand why she let the same thing happen again with Dorotea. She was letting Jasper fall in love with her when she knew that Jasper was Dorotea’s soulmate–not her. I didn’t want that. It felt wrong some how. I mean, luckily Leah came to her senses and Dorotea and Jasper reconciled their differences and let go of their prejudices. Once that happened, they became my favorite couple.
Also, I feel it’s important to point out that Qeturah doesn’t appear in this book as much as one would expect after reading the first one. She’s still the enemy, but the chaos she creates is behind the scenes if that makes sense. What I mean is that, bad things are happening, and it’s known that Qeturah is the reason, but Qeturah’s physical whereabouts are not known for quite some time. And I found the ending of Qeturah quite shocking. It was a good shock, but also a bit anti-climatic. I expected an epic fight to go down between Leah and Qeturah, but that’s not what happened. Although, I suppose that the epic fight is yet to come. After all, Qeturah was just a puppet. Malachi is the true evil in this fight for freedom. And that surprise tease at the end of book one? Not really addressed yet. I suspect–or at least I seriously hope–that we will take a visit to the True world next, and I suspect that it will be truly epic.
Overall, Through Fire & Sea and Amid Wind & Stone are truly thrilling and magical reads. The complexity of the characters and the world building is fantastic. The adventure is exciting, and I would really love to visit these fascinating worlds again. Definitely recommend for YA Fantasy readers.
Review originally posted @ Bridget's Book Bungalow: http://bit.ly/1QDYEF3
emarleene's review
3.0
This is the second book in the Otherselves series and I received this novel in exchange for an honest review.
In the first book, Leah lost her soul mate Gideon and fought together with her otherself Holly to protect Gideon’s otherself from the same fate. They managed to save Ryan on water world and now the time has come to the two other mirror worlds, air and stone.
Here we are introduced to Dorotea from Stone and Audrey from Air. War is coming to Audrey’s city and an angry Goddess in threatening to destroy Dorotea’s home. As if this wasn’t enough, now they have to learn about the mirror worlds and help save a soul mate they haven’t even met yet.
As I started this book my first thought was that the transfer from Leah and her world to the new worlds wasn’t as smooth as it could have been. It felt a bit rushed and somehow these new worlds and new characters were pushed upon me and I wasn’t sure what was happening. I wanted to continue the story from the first novel, but I got stuck with something completely new with nothing leading back to the previous novel. It took quite a long time for the stories to sort of intertwine. I can somehow understand the difficulty in getting a smooth transition and obviously the reader has to connect with the new worlds and characters too, but in my opinion there was something lacking.
Dorotea’s world has some interesting plot points and I was more drawn to her story even if it was quite obvious to me as a reader who the gargoyle she forced to work for her was. I liked the gargoyle and the story behind how they came to be trapped. But Audrey’s world didn’t get to me at all and half way through the book I gave up and mostly speed read her parts (meaning I skipped a lot).
After Leah appeared in these novels and at times even Holly, the story took off and became more interesting and I felt how my eagerness to keep reading returned. It was a bit slow in the beginning since it took such a long time for this book to catch up to where we left off in the first one.
Overall, the book was decent and I’m glad I read it. It didn’t quite live up to my expectations after reading the first one in the series though. It felt rushed and perhaps this series would have benefitted from having made this second installment into two separate books, one for air and one for stone.
The writing was good and the worlds were interesting in a way too. I loved reading about the stone world and I could easily picture it and I liked learning about their history and the gargoyles etc. Air world however felt too complex to be explained in the limited space reserved for it and therefore it was mostly confusing and hard to picture. I got the feeling it was supposed to be sort of steampunk and it had its moments, but as I said it needed more time to bloom.
I still recommend reading this book for those who enjoyed the first book in the series.
In the first book, Leah lost her soul mate Gideon and fought together with her otherself Holly to protect Gideon’s otherself from the same fate. They managed to save Ryan on water world and now the time has come to the two other mirror worlds, air and stone.
Here we are introduced to Dorotea from Stone and Audrey from Air. War is coming to Audrey’s city and an angry Goddess in threatening to destroy Dorotea’s home. As if this wasn’t enough, now they have to learn about the mirror worlds and help save a soul mate they haven’t even met yet.
As I started this book my first thought was that the transfer from Leah and her world to the new worlds wasn’t as smooth as it could have been. It felt a bit rushed and somehow these new worlds and new characters were pushed upon me and I wasn’t sure what was happening. I wanted to continue the story from the first novel, but I got stuck with something completely new with nothing leading back to the previous novel. It took quite a long time for the stories to sort of intertwine. I can somehow understand the difficulty in getting a smooth transition and obviously the reader has to connect with the new worlds and characters too, but in my opinion there was something lacking.
Dorotea’s world has some interesting plot points and I was more drawn to her story even if it was quite obvious to me as a reader who the gargoyle she forced to work for her was. I liked the gargoyle and the story behind how they came to be trapped. But Audrey’s world didn’t get to me at all and half way through the book I gave up and mostly speed read her parts (meaning I skipped a lot).
After Leah appeared in these novels and at times even Holly, the story took off and became more interesting and I felt how my eagerness to keep reading returned. It was a bit slow in the beginning since it took such a long time for this book to catch up to where we left off in the first one.
Overall, the book was decent and I’m glad I read it. It didn’t quite live up to my expectations after reading the first one in the series though. It felt rushed and perhaps this series would have benefitted from having made this second installment into two separate books, one for air and one for stone.
The writing was good and the worlds were interesting in a way too. I loved reading about the stone world and I could easily picture it and I liked learning about their history and the gargoyles etc. Air world however felt too complex to be explained in the limited space reserved for it and therefore it was mostly confusing and hard to picture. I got the feeling it was supposed to be sort of steampunk and it had its moments, but as I said it needed more time to bloom.
I still recommend reading this book for those who enjoyed the first book in the series.
afirepages's review against another edition
5.0
Review contains spoilers.
*Thank you NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for accepting my request and providing me a copy in exchange of an honest book review.
5 of 5 stars
I am a great fan of fantasy and I know that this book was just really made for me! It was definitely a fun fantasy ride! No doubt Amid Wind and Stone deserves a solid 5 stars.
Amid Wind and Stone is the book two of the Otherselves series by Nicole Lukein. Yes BOOK TWO, and I haven’t read the book one yet. It is so annoying reading the book two without reading the book one yet but the good thing here is, this book is an independent one. The beginning of the book may just put some questions inside your head but the ending will definitely not leave you hanging.
It is written on third person’s POV.
Dorotea from the Stone World did a terrible mistake that caused danger not only to her life but also to her whole entire world for the sake of saving her little step sister’s life who is in a state of coma. Dorotea is a loving and caring step sister and daughter. She is willing to do and gamble everything just for the sake of her family specially her little step sister Marta. But despite of that, Dorotea has the tendency to be cruel and merciless.
Audrey from the Air World accidentally ruined his brother’s life just because she wanted to help and have a little fun or escapade. Audrey is expected to be prim and proper. But Audrey is boyish and a great craver of adventure which is not quite suitable for a young lady like her especially that her father, The Admiral, strongly disapproves it. Audrey is strong and brave like a boy.
The book two of Otherselves series is more focused on the Wind and Air World still with Leah on the Fire and Holly on the Water.
The characters of this book has a strong voice. The changing of worlds and the differentiation of the four main characters are so good. They can be perfectly and easily distinguished from each other. Each is unique and flawlessly written and separated from each other.
””I don’t want money or baubles.” His voice dropped. “I want another kiss.”
”A kiss?” she squeaked.
“Yes. A kiss from you is worth more than a few measly old diamonds.”
I really love the romantic side of this book. It always makes my heart beats faster. I am in love with them. It is just mild and perfect for the young adults. Surely every girl out there will dream of having such a love story like theirs.
Dorotea and Red Jasper, Audrey and The Phantom, both pairs has a unique way of making and telling their own true love stories.
The worlds, The way Nicole Lukein created the new worlds was splendid. The building of the worlds are so intense. It will really drag you in to it. And honestly speaking, I haven’t seen any other fictional worlds yet that is well built and established just like Nicole Lukein did. There is nothing wrong I can see. All I can see is pure perfection and a whole completely different world. It is as if I was being transported into some new, completely strange place.
The ending.
””All right,” she said faintly. Was this really happening?”
Ugh. WAS THIS REALLY HAPPENING? I really don’t know what to say about how this book has ended. It was so unfair. I love it and hate it at the same time. I love it and I’m happy for both Stone and Air World.
But what about Leah in the Fire World? WHY? Why did Leah have to be there? To be left alone? Sure, the Mirror Worlds are safe. But still..
”Nevertheless, she wrapped herself in a blanket and sat on the bed. She felt closer to Gideon here.”
Why did Leah have to be there alone, longing for his dead soul mate?
Everybody is happy, I know Leah also feels the same way. But deep inside, I also know that she’s not. Being left alone in a dead and burning world will never ever make you truly happy, right?
Everything that happened just made me crave for book three even more.
There is nothing that I hated or disliked about this book but except for one. Dorotea. She is so annoying. Yes, Dorotea loves her family so much and she is so loving and caring but she is so impulsive. And I really hate the part where she ordered a gargoyle to die which happened to be her only formidable ally at that time. Sometimes, she forgets how to use her head first. Or sometimes she’s just using her head without even considering her heart.
I love reading this book and I really didn’t wished for it to have an end. I just couldn’t say anything bad and wrong about this book. There is nothing I could say. This book literally made me gasping for air like for so many times. I’m so happy that it still had another one.
I really hate reading the first book for the first time after reading the middle book/s in the series but I badly need and still hoping to read Through Fire and Sea!
This book is just perfect for fantasy readers like me.
*Thank you NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for accepting my request and providing me a copy in exchange of an honest book review.
5 of 5 stars
I am a great fan of fantasy and I know that this book was just really made for me! It was definitely a fun fantasy ride! No doubt Amid Wind and Stone deserves a solid 5 stars.
Amid Wind and Stone is the book two of the Otherselves series by Nicole Lukein. Yes BOOK TWO, and I haven’t read the book one yet. It is so annoying reading the book two without reading the book one yet but the good thing here is, this book is an independent one. The beginning of the book may just put some questions inside your head but the ending will definitely not leave you hanging.
It is written on third person’s POV.
Dorotea from the Stone World did a terrible mistake that caused danger not only to her life but also to her whole entire world for the sake of saving her little step sister’s life who is in a state of coma. Dorotea is a loving and caring step sister and daughter. She is willing to do and gamble everything just for the sake of her family specially her little step sister Marta. But despite of that, Dorotea has the tendency to be cruel and merciless.
Audrey from the Air World accidentally ruined his brother’s life just because she wanted to help and have a little fun or escapade. Audrey is expected to be prim and proper. But Audrey is boyish and a great craver of adventure which is not quite suitable for a young lady like her especially that her father, The Admiral, strongly disapproves it. Audrey is strong and brave like a boy.
The book two of Otherselves series is more focused on the Wind and Air World still with Leah on the Fire and Holly on the Water.
The characters of this book has a strong voice. The changing of worlds and the differentiation of the four main characters are so good. They can be perfectly and easily distinguished from each other. Each is unique and flawlessly written and separated from each other.
””I don’t want money or baubles.” His voice dropped. “I want another kiss.”
”A kiss?” she squeaked.
“Yes. A kiss from you is worth more than a few measly old diamonds.”
I really love the romantic side of this book. It always makes my heart beats faster. I am in love with them. It is just mild and perfect for the young adults. Surely every girl out there will dream of having such a love story like theirs.
Dorotea and Red Jasper, Audrey and The Phantom, both pairs has a unique way of making and telling their own true love stories.
The worlds, The way Nicole Lukein created the new worlds was splendid. The building of the worlds are so intense. It will really drag you in to it. And honestly speaking, I haven’t seen any other fictional worlds yet that is well built and established just like Nicole Lukein did. There is nothing wrong I can see. All I can see is pure perfection and a whole completely different world. It is as if I was being transported into some new, completely strange place.
The ending.
””All right,” she said faintly. Was this really happening?”
Ugh. WAS THIS REALLY HAPPENING? I really don’t know what to say about how this book has ended. It was so unfair. I love it and hate it at the same time. I love it and I’m happy for both Stone and Air World.
But what about Leah in the Fire World? WHY? Why did Leah have to be there? To be left alone? Sure, the Mirror Worlds are safe. But still..
”Nevertheless, she wrapped herself in a blanket and sat on the bed. She felt closer to Gideon here.”
Why did Leah have to be there alone, longing for his dead soul mate?
Everybody is happy, I know Leah also feels the same way. But deep inside, I also know that she’s not. Being left alone in a dead and burning world will never ever make you truly happy, right?
Everything that happened just made me crave for book three even more.
There is nothing that I hated or disliked about this book but except for one. Dorotea. She is so annoying. Yes, Dorotea loves her family so much and she is so loving and caring but she is so impulsive. And I really hate the part where she ordered a gargoyle to die which happened to be her only formidable ally at that time. Sometimes, she forgets how to use her head first. Or sometimes she’s just using her head without even considering her heart.
I love reading this book and I really didn’t wished for it to have an end. I just couldn’t say anything bad and wrong about this book. There is nothing I could say. This book literally made me gasping for air like for so many times. I’m so happy that it still had another one.
I really hate reading the first book for the first time after reading the middle book/s in the series but I badly need and still hoping to read Through Fire and Sea!
This book is just perfect for fantasy readers like me.
dinibharadwaj's review
5.0
Actual rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Characters:
Dorotea didn't initially impress me, making choices that seemed really stupid, but she grew on me, primarily because she accepted her mistakes. Audrey was more fun and my new favourite. The romance in this instalment felt better crafted and I loved how the Otherselves of Gideon also have different personalities, same as Leah. The supporting cast on the Air World were great, but those of the Stone World were a little underwhelming to me.
Plot and Setting:
The beginning again hooked me, just like the first book. I breezed through the book, hardly pausing because the plot was fast-paced and a delightful page-turner. The previous book stops at a very intriguing cliff-hanger, but this book does not develop on that at all, which was a bit of a let down for me, and hence the 4.5 rating. The world-building again floored me. The Air and Stone Worlds were two completely different places with their own social ranking, customs and just the overall feel of each place. After this book, I'm convinced that Nicole Luiken is a master world-builder and I enjoyed immersing myself in the worlds she built (especially Air World).
Writing Style:
I read this book when the memory of the previous one was still fresh in my mind, so I didn't need any time getting used to the writing, as I did with the first book. It was perhaps more enjoyable because of that and I was invested from beginning to end. The writing is easy to follow and gets descriptive only when it needs to, although there were a few places which felt like an info-dump session. They were necessary to the story, but that was the only time my mind pulled away from the book for a breather, so I hope there's less of that in the next book.
Conclusion:
The first two books of this series have entertained me and captured my imagination. If the third book is even half as good as these two, I'm sure the series will end up in my Top Five Favourite Fantasy Trilogies list. It features real female characters, has romance, action and adventure in equal measure and is a quick read - all the marks of great writing. I just hope the last book lives up to my expectations.
Characters:
Dorotea didn't initially impress me, making choices that seemed really stupid, but she grew on me, primarily because she accepted her mistakes. Audrey was more fun and my new favourite. The romance in this instalment felt better crafted and I loved how the Otherselves of Gideon also have different personalities, same as Leah. The supporting cast on the Air World were great, but those of the Stone World were a little underwhelming to me.
Plot and Setting:
The beginning again hooked me, just like the first book. I breezed through the book, hardly pausing because the plot was fast-paced and a delightful page-turner. The previous book stops at a very intriguing cliff-hanger, but this book does not develop on that at all, which was a bit of a let down for me, and hence the 4.5 rating. The world-building again floored me. The Air and Stone Worlds were two completely different places with their own social ranking, customs and just the overall feel of each place. After this book, I'm convinced that Nicole Luiken is a master world-builder and I enjoyed immersing myself in the worlds she built (especially Air World).
Writing Style:
I read this book when the memory of the previous one was still fresh in my mind, so I didn't need any time getting used to the writing, as I did with the first book. It was perhaps more enjoyable because of that and I was invested from beginning to end. The writing is easy to follow and gets descriptive only when it needs to, although there were a few places which felt like an info-dump session. They were necessary to the story, but that was the only time my mind pulled away from the book for a breather, so I hope there's less of that in the next book.
Conclusion:
The first two books of this series have entertained me and captured my imagination. If the third book is even half as good as these two, I'm sure the series will end up in my Top Five Favourite Fantasy Trilogies list. It features real female characters, has romance, action and adventure in equal measure and is a quick read - all the marks of great writing. I just hope the last book lives up to my expectations.
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