Welcome Back, Booklovers! February was another wild month and my reading took an interesting turn. While I set an accountability TBR this month I decided to deviate when A Psalm of Storms and Silence started calling my name.
So I really enjoyed A Song of Wraiths and Ruins when it released back in 2020. I liked how the story flowed, how the world was described, the traditions during the festival, and how the magic system was being revealed. I even liked the romance between Katrina and Malik. There was such an effortless chemistry between them. I was curious to see where book 2 would go after the events of the coronation.
Katrina is now the most wanted person in the kingdom and on the run from Farid and his army. Malik is working as Farid's apprentice. Natural disaster after natural disaster is striking the kingdom and Karina is the key to stopping it.
I feel like while this sequel wasn't necessary and everything could've been solved in book 1. I know Roseanne A. Brown has spoken about struggling to write the sequel. The sophomore slump is real and with the pandemic it's a lot harder for some authors to focus on writing. The first half of this book just felt really pointless with the exception of some scenes here and there. It was as if our author wasn't sure where to go with the story and these characters. I enjoyed Hanane and the depiction of grooming and an emotionally abusive relationship. I thought she shown here more and was better developed than Karina. I enjoyed Malik in this story just as much as the first and thought the way his anxiety was depicted was great. I also enjoyed the close relationship he has with his sisters.
Though speaking of characters I do feel like she queer-baited with two characters in this story which is something she also did in book 1 but to a lesser extent. It frustrates me when authors write things like that as if checking off queer rep off a diversity checklist. Don't hint at something you're not going to follow through with and get reader's hopes up.
The world didn't feel as vibrant this time around. The audiobook narration was solid and the steady pacing kept the story moving but the world never really came alive for me. While Karina was on the run there was opportunity to explore other parts of the world that never really happened.
Karina and Malik spend most of the story separate only meeting up in the dreamscape which was reminding me of Children of Blood and Bone in some scenes. While they still had the same solid chemistry but their ending was such a let down. I see where she tried to do something different but it just left the story feeling incomplete. And after so much focus on the romance and getting us invested it just wasn't enough closure. It also felt like a few storylines were dropped and with this being the final book in the series it left me disappointed. At over 500 pages the story should've felt more developed.
Enjoyed the review. Shame about this book. I enjoyed the first one well enough, but I didn't feel compelled to read the sequel.
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