Synopsis
With the pressure on after his success in Gaol, Eli Monpress, professional thief and degenerate, decides it’s time to lie low for a bit. Taking up residence in a tiny seaside village, Eli and his companions seize the chance for some fun and relaxation.
Nico, however, is finding it a bit hard. Plagued by a demon’s voice in her head and feeling powerless, she only sees herself as a burden. Everyone’s holiday comes to an untimely close, though, when Pele arrives to beg Eli’s help for finding her missing father.
But there are larger plans afoot than even Eli can see, and the real danger, and the solution, may lie with one of his own and her forgotten past.
If only Nico could remember whose side she’s on.
Review
“What we did and who we were are just dregs compared to who we are now and how we act when the sword is coming down.”
This series just keeps getting better and better! I am so impressed where this story has come from book 1 and how It has increased in both scope and stakes in each successive book.
In this one we see continued development of the characters, especially Nico who this part of the story largely revolves around. We get to see more of each character’s past as well as emotional moments that continue to keep these characters compelling in their own right.
I continue to love the magic system in this world. The idea that everything that would typically be inanimate is a spirit is so cool. Now however we learn that there are different levels of power and authority within the spirit world, even a hierarchy, and it’s fascinating. I also really enjoy each wizard’s unique interactions with the spirit world and the moral complications that wielding magic in this world presents. Not to mention the magic makes for very visual and exciting fight scenes, one in particular in this book that was probably the best one of the series so far!
This story was fast paced, never letting up until the final words were read. However, it also felt like there were so many things in this particular book that were there at least in part to set up the rest of the series. I loved that balance that the author was able to strike.
I have grown to love this series as a whole. The characters are not only compelling, but so likable and fun, the world is ever evolving with each book, and the tone has gone from one of bantery fun in the first book to more of a serious, dark tone in the subsequent books. Yet the series still maintains the banter and overall goodness of the first book. I can’t wait to see where the rest of the series will take our protagonists, so much so that I have already started book 4!
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