Blog Tour: Holes in the Veil (The Goblets Immortal #2) by Beth Overmyer

Welcome to my stop on the Holes in the Veil Blog Tour! Thank you to Anne Cater with Random Things Tours for organizing, and to Beth Overmyer for the work the author put into this book and series. Without further ado, I present: Holes in the Veil (The Goblets Immortal #2) by Beth Overmyer.

Rating: 8.5/10

Synopsis

Having killed his lifelong enemy, Aidan Ingledark finds himself in possession of a map to the Questing Goblet, one of the Goblets Immortal that gives the drinker luck beyond measure. Meraude seeks this Goblet to wipe out magic-kind. Aidan and his traveling companion are determined to find it first but they must battle through illusion and doubt.

Jinn’s a Sightful seeking the Summoner. She wants to kill her mother, but her foresight ends in darkness. Can she enlist Aidan’s help and change her fate?

The threat of Meraude and her dominion are imminent in this sequel to The Goblets Immortal.

Review

I first came across this series last year when I reviewed The Goblets Immortal (book 1 of the series) for a book tour. Read that review here, if you would like. What immediately stands out to me about that review is that, while I liked the book, I did have a few criticisms. But, here is the deal: I thought it was a standalone novel. It was not until later that a conversation with Beth Overmyer did I learn this series is actually going to be trilogy. I thought the plot was somewhat flimsy for a standalone, and I disapproved of the ending. That all changes now that I know it is a series and have read the second book, because Holes in the Veil epitomizes the classic middle book of a series: it expands the world and introduces some new characters and a bit of a mini-narrative while continuing with overall narrative for the main protagonists, as well. That is not to say it is boring or overly trope-y, because it is not. Holes in the Veil takes The Goblets Immortal series to a new level, and I was very happy in the direction of story.

I think what I like most about this series is that it is an adventure fantasy (and I do love me some adventure fantasy). I hear the word “quest” and my hears perk up, and despite everything else going on that is the main theme: find the Goblets, save the world (Peter Petrelli, anyone?). But what really brings this narrative to a head is that Aidan is searching for the Goblets against his will. He is being compelled by an evil mage by the name of Meraude, who vows to give his family back once she has possession of the Goblets. Aidan is not sure what the mage wants with the Goblets, but he fears she wants to destroy magic or magic users. This puts Aidan in quite a predicament: get her the Goblets and potentially ruin the lives of others or never see his family, again. As expected, Aidan agrees but spends most of his time trying to find a way out. Can he somehow use the Goblets against Meraude? That is his thought process, and that is from where the bulk of the tension-creates emanate.

Even more suspension is built from Aiden’s relationship with his sidekick, Slaine. Slaine is compelled to help Aiden due to a curse put on her as a child, but their relationship grows quite a bit during the course of the first two books. It is clear from the first pages they have become quite fond of each other, and that creates some sexual tension. I always approach romantic situations in fantasy with skepticism. How necessary is it? I often ask myself. I think that as a society we have been to expect two people who are spending time together to fall in love. It has come to be an expectation as everything gets Disnified, and that fact is often used as a crutch in stories to force the characters into awkward situations where they do not belong; but, I like the fact that it exists in Holes in the Veil. I am not sure if “love” is the right word, but what I do really like is just how innocent it feels. And sloooooooooooow. The author did avoid some of the romance tropes such as putting them in a room with one bed (and actually seemed to make fun of this trope a little by making it seem as though that is where a scene was going, but then doing a 180 at the last second), though they did fall and land on each other a couple times. So, I guess not all cliches can be avoided.

I want to stress that this all seems to be part of Overmyer’s grand plan. It is witty, thoughtful writing, faking out one way then running it straight up the middle the next. As a reader, I like it when a story keeps me on my toes, and that is part of the appeal of Holes in the Veil. Everything felt just off of center enough that I never knew exactly where things were going next.

Speaking of off center, I did mention there were new characters introduced in this book. Jinn and Quick are also Blest (magic users, like Aiden), but where Aiden’s gift is to be able to push and pull items into another dimension (think weapons, food, waterskins, etc) these two can get glimpses into the future (not a spoiler, we find this out very early on). This, of course, influences their own quest quite significantly, and points intermingles with Aiden’s and Slaine’s, as well. I am not going to get into that too much here, because I do want to avoid spoiling that part of the narrative. I really just want to point out this is yet another added layer to this story that was already pretty highly pressurized. I love the addition of these characters and the storyline that comes along with them.

Holes in the Veil is a really good second book in The Goblets Immortal series. It is witty and adventurous, and I loved all the tension-building elements. My only question is: how is Overmyer going to pull of the final book in the trilogy? Seems like there is a lot of story to go. Regardless, I recommend this book and series for fans of fantasy, and especially those who like adventure fantasy. I suspect you will not be disappointed.

Tour Schedule

Mine is the last stop on the tour, but that does not mean you cannot relive the fun! Go check out the rest of tour stops listed below.

About the Author