I’m rating this dark fantasy sequel a 4/5 stars. Read my comments below for my live thoughts while reading.
It starts in Isolde’s perspective and honestly, I was a little lost at first because I’ve read so many similar novels that I couldn’t recall which plot this one followed. It slowly came back to me with the vampires, Isolde’s past life & their brutal violence as rulers. I’m a little surprised I preordered it so long ago since I’m usually not heavily invested in immortal characters. So now I’m excited to re fall in love with this couple since I apparently liked them a lot in the first book. Within the first chapter there’s already on screen sex, grief, beheadings… so it’ll fall into the dark classification.
I love that she jumps into battle to protect her people and she doesn’t want her husband’r orders to outrank hers? And now I’m wondering if a love triangle is starting?
The mini cliffhangers at the end of chapters are addicting and effective.
There’s a lot of side characters to catch up on and some are confusing with similar names like Dracul and Daroc. Or Gheroghe and Gesalac
So Isolde already has a second life, like a reincarnation. And some people also think she’s a witch. And then she wants to be turned into a vampire. But instead she turns into an aufhocker, which is like a giant werewolf demon dog…?
Sometimes the sex scenes feel so random. Like there’s no buildup and it goes so fast. Then it’s just over before getting settled.
Okay, after another random sex scene I’m frustrated. They’re supposed to have a purpose, to move the plot forward or enhance their relationship. But they don’t do that because they’re so short it seems pointless.
Their relationship is so hot and cold that it’s confusing.
I’m halfway through and struggling a bit with the fluidity. A lot of the scenes feel jolting and abruptly jumping without the smoothness I’m searching for. A lot of the sex scenes feel shallow and pointless without the complex conversations surrounding them.
I have a hard time understanding their relationship. There’s little explanation or processing. They seem to despise each other half the time and treat each other terribly, so it doesn’t make sense to me. It just feels toxic.
The mysterious Book of Dis is the most exciting part of this story with it’s possible potential
Well three huge “events” happened and they’re rushed through so quickly that I could barely feel the emotional impact. We found out the traitor and I wanted to care more than I did. I wanted to feel her desperation too when fighting against this new creature (that hadn’t been mentioned before) but it didn’t come through. Then in chapter 22-23 a bunch of characters from the first book come back who I dont recall and they just hill back in the story like Safira & Alaric. Why should I care abojt then now? It feels like a side plot and not organized.
How does Dis just randomly
show up in and it’s like “no big deal?” It feels the same as the mirror scene earlier. It just “happened” and then it was done. It’s like whiplash.
There’s just so much going on it doesn’t feel cohesive.
And if Adrian can read their minds then why isn’t he all knowing? It’s like the plot picks and chooses when it benefits for him to read their minds.
[SPOILER]- okay and after she’s turned then it’s barely addressed that she’s this entirely new creature. Again. Like she has no emotions of being a vampire now?
Near the end, things are getting really good with the involvement of Dis. But I wish I was this invested earlier.
It’s confusing when she goes into “dream mode” because there’s no indication that it isn’t a here and now moment.
Well, the last chapter was amazing and made the book worth while. It ends without resolution, so I’m assuming there will at least be one more. It looks like the title might be Kingdom of Spirit and Shadow, to release early 2024. I got sucked in enough at the end to read the next one
Cassie Swindon 