A review by escapistlit
The Emperor's Bone Palace by Hailey Turner

adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

book two in turner’s latest steampunk epic fantasy series INFERNAL WAR SAGA hits as hard and fast as book one. 

a lot of this book felt like set-up for the finale of the trilogy and the repercussions of the last cliffhangers from the prior book. i felt like the reader knows too much in this book. i would have liked to have been more surprised like i was in the first book. though there were some plot elements i’m glad didn’t get dragged out for the drama and were more immediately revealed and dealt with among the other things going on. 

blaine and honovi are still by and far my favorite characters and couple. these two ride-or-die husbands alone give great angst, romance, and plot involvement. star gods better let their roads come into one and then leave them alone to their jarldom and the skies. 

while i enjoyed vanya and soren in book one, they were starting to lose me in this one. i feel like we spent a lot of time with the solaria politics. i wish there was more from caris and eimarille. 

but, this was still enjoyable overall and i am excited for the next and final book. we’ve ended on another great (or not great) cliffhanger with eimarille’s war on our other protagonists’ doorsteps and can only wait to see the repercussions of reveals, betrayals, and more.