5/5 stars
Recommended if you like: portal fantasy, Arthurian legends, quests, found family
Big thanks to Netgalley, Knopf Books, and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
This book opens exactly where Silver left off. Our main group is reeling from everything that happened in Avalon, and then are forced to deal with their unexpected visitor. Tamsin naturally has mixed emotions about the visitor, especially once it’s revealed that 1) they’re carrying surprising information, and 2) are about to pull their same old shit. Things quickly pick up as Death and the Wild Hunt begin prowling the mortal world and Tamsin and the others have to race to stop them. Like the first book, this is a very quest-oriented story and the characters have a clear end goal. That being said, there are a lot of curves in the road and more than one unexpected discovery.
In book 1 Tamsin had to learn how to open her heart to other people, and this book focuses a good deal on her learning to not close herself back off when things get rocky. She loves Neve, Cait, and Olwen, but she’s also used to people leaving her and doubts sometimes that their bond is enough to sustain them. She has to choose optimism in this one, despite the fact that that’s contrary to her nature. But as usual, once someone has gotten past her defenses, Tamsin will defend them to the end, and that includes fighting against her own pessimistic and anxiety-inducing thoughts. Despite this growth, Tamsin is still the funny and generally pessimistic person we grew to love in Silver.
Caitriona is dealing with a lot as a result of the fall of Avalon. Everything she had dedicated her life to is gone and that obviously leaves a mark on someone, especially someone who has fought as hard as Cait. We see her start down a somewhat dark path as anger and grief begin to take over. That being said, she is still fiercely protective of the group, particularly Olwen, and is determined to see Lord Death’s end.
Cait and Tamsin are still the most similar to each other, and I liked seeing the moments when they leaned on one another because they knew their more optimistic counterparts might not understand. It was nice to see them having moments when they could rely on one another to understand their thoughts without having to explain.
Despite everything that’s happened, Neve is still as sunny and optimistic as ever. She still sees the good in people, and the good in the sorceresses, though at the same time is protective of her friends and is willing to threaten people to protect them, even if the ‘threat’ is saying she’ll send Tamsin or Cait after them. I like that Neve is able to bring brightness to the story and the group, and I do think her optimism is tinged with a little more realism now than it was in Silver.
Her and Tamsin have a strong bond, and I think it’s helpful for Tamsin to have someone so naturally sunny to lean on. While Neve may not understand Tamsin the same way Cait does, she understands her in a different way and is able to help Tamsin see things from a different perspective. And speaking of Cait, I enjoyed seeing her and Neve’s relationship develop beyond the hints in book 1. Cait is still wary of the sorceresses while Neve is hopeful about them, and while they may bicker about that, the two of them are past the initial antagonism and well into the kind of flirting a socially-awkward Cait can manage.
Olwen actually has a lot of off-page time in this book, but like Neve has maintained her relatively optimistic disposition. She’s definitely weighed down somewhat by the grief of what happened in Avalon, and it’s clear those events will haunt her for a long time. But she’s also fascinated by the mortal world and is eager to explore it and learn more about her new home.
Emrys does turn back up pretty early on, though he’s back to being his obnoxious self. To be fair, there’s more going on behind the scenes than is initially clear (though imo it is clear that something is going on with him). We do get to learn a bit more about Emrys’ past and his family life, which obviously isn’t pretty. It was definitely interesting to see his relationship with Tamsin in this book vs. Silver, and he has a lot of making up to do before he can even hope to be on her good side, let alone the good side of her friends (Neve is especially pissed with him).
The main quest in this one is, obviously, stopping Lord Death. Like with Avalon, I did figure out what was going on fairly early on, but Bracken includes enough misdirection that at times I second-guessed myself. There was also still a lot that I didn’t see coming and the plot revolves less around this ‘mystery’ and more around finding a tool/weapon that can stop Lord Death. The group also runs into trouble from various allies and enemies and enemies-turned-allies and people who don’t quite fall into either category. There was a lot of really interesting things going on in this book and I loved it!
Overall this was a very satisfying conclusion to the duology and I think action scenes and character growth are well balanced. I definitely think there’s potential for some novellas or a sequel story focusing on Neve + Cait or Olwen, and I would definitely be interested in reading those (and Bracken has done side-character novellas before, so it’s possible!).
Reading Queen E Reviews 