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A review by mackenzierm
City of Snakes by Mariet Kay
4.5
4.5 stars!
Queen Sybilla’s city was attacked by Source-weilders and left in shambles. She sees only one opportunity to protect her reign: honor her blood oath to the ill-tempered King in an enemy realm. Sybilla was always told that Darvanda’s realm was a desert wasteland, so she is surprised to find a vibrant place filled with magic. King Darvanda believes an alliance with Queen Sybilla is a prudent idea… until he discovers that she may be bound to his destiny.
CITY OF SNAKES is the second book in the Legends of Henosis series (at least it is my hope that there will be more books to come!). In hindsight, I wish I would have reread the first book, Born of Starlight because it took me some time to recollect and immerse myself with the characters and previous book’s contexts. Nevertheless, I muddled my way through and eventually caught my stride.
The world-building continues to evolve, is intricate, and easy to visualize. The magic system is interesting and relatively well described, but I do think I would have benefited from a legend or further explanation of the Source powers and their wielding capabilities.
The novel is told in multiple POV, alternating between Sybilla, Krait, and Emmerick. Each character is dynamic and well-written. I loved getting to know each character that is encountered over the course of the novel, as well as their backstories. I can’t decide which POV was my favorite, but I do think it alternated between Sybilla’s and Krait’s.
I enjoyed the romance that blossomed between two of the main characters. There was some back and forth between Krait and Sybilla in the middle point of the novel that interrupted the flow and was drawn out a bit too long, but did serve well as conflict in their relationship. There are some spicy scenes (the library scene 🥵) which are well timed and well written.
The plot of CITY OF SNAKES is fast-paced and complex with many moving parts, some action and adventure, high stakes, tension, and intrigue. There are some twists that I didn’t see coming and this was so well executed. The ending had me reading with bated breath, worried about what the outcome would be. The epilogue was perfect and leaves me wondering what will come in future books (should they one day exist)!
I would like to thank SunnyBabePR and the author of this advanced digital copy for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for an honest review! All opinions expressed are my own.
Queen Sybilla’s city was attacked by Source-weilders and left in shambles. She sees only one opportunity to protect her reign: honor her blood oath to the ill-tempered King in an enemy realm. Sybilla was always told that Darvanda’s realm was a desert wasteland, so she is surprised to find a vibrant place filled with magic. King Darvanda believes an alliance with Queen Sybilla is a prudent idea… until he discovers that she may be bound to his destiny.
CITY OF SNAKES is the second book in the Legends of Henosis series (at least it is my hope that there will be more books to come!). In hindsight, I wish I would have reread the first book, Born of Starlight because it took me some time to recollect and immerse myself with the characters and previous book’s contexts. Nevertheless, I muddled my way through and eventually caught my stride.
The world-building continues to evolve, is intricate, and easy to visualize. The magic system is interesting and relatively well described, but I do think I would have benefited from a legend or further explanation of the Source powers and their wielding capabilities.
The novel is told in multiple POV, alternating between Sybilla, Krait, and Emmerick. Each character is dynamic and well-written. I loved getting to know each character that is encountered over the course of the novel, as well as their backstories. I can’t decide which POV was my favorite, but I do think it alternated between Sybilla’s and Krait’s.
I enjoyed the romance that blossomed between two of the main characters. There was some back and forth between Krait and Sybilla in the middle point of the novel that interrupted the flow and was drawn out a bit too long, but did serve well as conflict in their relationship. There are some spicy scenes (the library scene 🥵) which are well timed and well written.
The plot of CITY OF SNAKES is fast-paced and complex with many moving parts, some action and adventure, high stakes, tension, and intrigue. There are some twists that I didn’t see coming and this was so well executed. The ending had me reading with bated breath, worried about what the outcome would be. The epilogue was perfect and leaves me wondering what will come in future books (should they one day exist)!
I would like to thank SunnyBabePR and the author of this advanced digital copy for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for an honest review! All opinions expressed are my own.