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A review by secre
Band of Breakers by Alisha Klapheke
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
I was intrigued by the first in this series, I sped through the second in the series. It gained some of the depth that I was missing in the first novel, yet it kept the light YA feel that would make it attractive to younger readers as well. Vahly has started to unlock her Earth powers, but without several more steps she will never be able to challenge the Sea Queen. Her magic is leading her to a ruined city, long since taken over by the sea. It's a place no dragon can follow her, for the salt water is deadly to them.
Along with the additional depth, the characters here really started to come alive and aside from the obviously building romance between elf and human, I really enjoyed the dialogue between various characters and the relationships that were strengthening throughout. The sea scenes were also far less jarring in this novel as they felt more balanced and in keeping with the rest of the tone; it might just be there were more of them and we got to see the culture beneath the waves, not just tiny snapshots. I also loved the inclusion of the griffon egg and Vahly's new familiar. The world-building continues to be excellent and we get to see elements that were hinted at in the previous novel, yet not expanded on. I liked the glimpse we got of the Jade Dragon Call Breakers and the greater view of the undersea given how important it is to events.
In all, this is a great follow up to the first in the series and I'm excited to see where it goes next. It's clean and fairly light reading. There are some battles, dark magic and minor swears, but nothing that would be concerning.
Along with the additional depth, the characters here really started to come alive and aside from the obviously building romance between elf and human, I really enjoyed the dialogue between various characters and the relationships that were strengthening throughout. The sea scenes were also far less jarring in this novel as they felt more balanced and in keeping with the rest of the tone; it might just be there were more of them and we got to see the culture beneath the waves, not just tiny snapshots. I also loved the inclusion of the griffon egg and Vahly's new familiar. The world-building continues to be excellent and we get to see elements that were hinted at in the previous novel, yet not expanded on. I liked the glimpse we got of the Jade Dragon Call Breakers and the greater view of the undersea given how important it is to events.
In all, this is a great follow up to the first in the series and I'm excited to see where it goes next. It's clean and fairly light reading. There are some battles, dark magic and minor swears, but nothing that would be concerning.