Synopsis:
Anger will not be quenched by blood alone.
The Missing, a rebel army that is little more than a rumor, may be Kaylo’s only path to exact his vengeance against the empire that claimed his home and killed his family. If it means a chance to balance the blood he owes, he will steal spirits and become the Missing’s tool, as long as they aim him in the right direction.
Eighteen years later, a war is raging between factions for control of Ennea. With Tayen, Kaylo, and Nix caught in the middle of a power struggle—Kaylo will have to find a way to fulfill the promise he made to Tayen, Nix must face the consequences of her betrayal, and Tayen will have to choose between vengeance and her spirit. When blood is owed, virtues will be challenged.
Review:
While there are many examples of sequels that fail to reach the same level of intensity or quality as the first book, I don’t include No Safe Haven in that list. This was a sequel that far surpassed the first book in every possible way (and the first book, No Heart for a Thief, was very good.)
The story still focuses primarily on Kaylo, or Ennea’s Thief as he’s more commonly known. Kaylo is a spirit dancer, but more importantly, a spirit thief, an ability that allows him to take the spirits of other dancers (or the tortured spirits trapped in crystals) and borrow their power for a time. His ability is coveted by both sides of the war, which puts him in a difficult position no matter who he’s working with. Like book one, this one moves between Kaylo in the present day, and the story of his past. And he finally shares some of his secrets with Tayen in this second book (some of them long overdue.)
The other present-day characters the story focuses on are Tayen and Nix. Tayen is a teenager and a shadow dancer who initially sought Kaylo out for guidance and training in the first book. Her relationship with Kaylo oscillates between anger/frustration with him and her love for him as a sort of father figure. Tayen has many reasons to be angry—and not just with Kaylo. Her rage is almost constant throughout the book.
Nix is a bit harder to figure out, especially at first (and maybe that’s because I made the mistake of going more than a year between reading books 1 and 2. My advice with this series: Don’t do that.) Nix seemed to be playing both sides, and it wasn’t until the end that I fully understood what she was working toward. She wasn’t an easy character to trust, but I liked her in the end.
I’m excited to see where the third and final book in the series will take me. I’ll be reading it next.
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