Scan barcode
lowkeymisrule's review against another edition
4.0
Incredibly compelling. Dangerously so, in that I stayed up all night to finish it. Left just enough loose ends to make me want to read the 3rd book in the series.
Excellent villains, and so many of them!
Excellent villains, and so many of them!
tom_collins's review against another edition
5.0
Enjoyed book #2 as much as I did #1. Lots of action & intrigue. Good character development. No glaring plot holes.
csmith0651's review against another edition
3.0
A thoroughly...bland story. The only original aspect of the story is the magic system. Other than that.... small boy, without magic, strives and succeeds in a magic-oriented society? Even the execution isn't original. But I would say the same thing about the first couple of Dresden books so perhaps this is just world building. But I'm really not encouraged to continue reading this series.
bfls's review against another edition
3.0
Another solid entry in the series. All the things I liked about the first book are still true. Unfortunately, all the bits that annoyed me are also still true.
Particularly, the switching between viewpoint characters. Although, my main objection there is one viewpoint character is Amara who I find really tiresome. Amara is a Cursor. Cursor's are officially the messengers for the First Lord of Alera, while in reality they are Alera's equivalent of MI5. She is meant to be one of their best and brightest, yet she spends what seems to me to be an inordinate amount of time standing around wringing her hands and feeling/being helpless.
Particularly, the switching between viewpoint characters. Although, my main objection there is one viewpoint character is Amara who I find really tiresome. Amara is a Cursor. Cursor's are officially the messengers for the First Lord of Alera, while in reality they are Alera's equivalent of MI5. She is meant to be one of their best and brightest, yet she spends what seems to me to be an inordinate amount of time standing around wringing her hands and feeling/being helpless.
roguehireling's review against another edition
4.0
Solid sequel. I'm enjoying the slow twisting of good/evil in the characters.
The writing sometimes seems a bit unrefined. But the story is entertaining enough to overlook minor style foibles. The pacing is also quite fast which makes for a very engaging read.
The writing sometimes seems a bit unrefined. But the story is entertaining enough to overlook minor style foibles. The pacing is also quite fast which makes for a very engaging read.
kmwomack's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Blood
Moderate: Infertility, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
thesirknoxalot's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
zedix's review against another edition
5.0
Really liking this series! I love that the author shied away from the traditional "good guys" vs "bad guys" factions and instead, a lot of characters/factions are morally grey.