ezzydesu 's review for:

The Deck of Omens by C.L. Herman

4.0

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''What would we do if there were no monsters for us to fight?''

I have received this book for free from Titan Books in exchange for an honest review.

Once again I have ventured to Four Paths to hang out with these disaster bisexuals and I am completely satisfied with the ending of this duology. Everyone got what they deserved and it was just right. It's absolutely impressive how Christine Lynn Herman wrote this duology, consisting of her debut and sophomore novel!

In The Deck of Omens, they have just defeated the Church of Four Deities and they seem to have subdued the Beast. But they cannot rest easy, not yet, as a corruption slowly spreads throughout town, infecting nature and people alike. The Founders learn more about the Beast and the origins of their power in order to defeat this new threat.

I really love how this book seamlessly ties in to the first book in this series, The Devouring Gray. It's a natural succession and progression of the big enemy/threat, instead of just another one (as happens often in other series). New information is revealed, new characters make their debut on page, it's just enough new in combination with what we already knew to make this sequel extremely solid. Long story short, this series does NOT suffer from sequel syndrome, quite the opposite really.

The character arcs in this book are amazing. It might not seem that impressive on first glance, but the characters are very self-aware and often look back to the person they were at the start of book one and what type of person they have become in the meantime, and they also reflect on how they feel about it. This is something that should happen in more books as it really gives characters a little more depth and humanity, making the book stronger for it.
I also really loved how all of these characters are absolutely owning their sexuality. They are coming out, they discussing how they feel, they are accepting of themselves and others. And the best thing is that this book is full of bisexuals and none of them felt the need to prove their queerness whatsoever, neither did anyone else expect them to. This is the kind of bisexual representation this world needs!

As this book is book two in the duology, the story of Four Paths and its citizens ends here. I can tell you that this is a really good conclusion to a story, and like I said before, everyone got what they deserved. Interpret that how you want to, but that's all I can say without throwing out massive spoilers.
The way this book works from the aftermath of the events of The Devouring Gray, through its own events and then towards the ending felt so natural and logical. Often, when I read the end of a series, it feels like the ending is forced into a certain hoop or just fan service, and that can leave me so unsatisfied. That's the worst feeling ever, especially if every other part of the story is rock solid. The fact this book has such a natural ending is a huge pro on my list.

The reason I gave this four stars instead of five, regardless of how much I love this series, is that rating a book five stars requires a certain vibe for me, something that goes beyond just plainly loving it. While objectively this book is everything I look for in my reading material, it just didn't have the same spark for me. BUT that does not mean this book is any lesser for it! That's just my personal feeling.

In conclusion, The Deck of Omens is a rock solid book and an amazing conclusion of a duology. 10/10 would recommend!

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