Book twooo! I continue to be way too excited to read this trilogy. I’ve waited so long… *sniff*
But particularly after where book one left off, I was particularly interested in what was going to happen next. (Note: spoilers for book one below the cut, because it is literally impossible to talk about book two without giving away pieces of book one.)
Leaving off on the fact that Gwennie was going up to the flotilla after winning the lottery was SUCH a cliffhanger. I mean, aside from the entire Obligation Day disaster. So not only do we have the added complication of Boyland and Wanda, now Gwennie is off in the sky to boot.
However, now that we have a character in the sky (that isn’t Cael’s sister) this means that we finally get to see the Empyrean from their own vantage point. (Kinda.) That over all else I think is my favorite part of this book in particular. We’ve established the way the Heartlanders see the Empyrean, but we don’t get a chance to see them from their own perspective. Particularly with the introduction of Balastair, we start to see the other side of the story. (I adore Balastair. And Erasmus. Sigh.) Winning the Lottery isn’t everything Gwennie was hoping–but she finds very early on that there’s a familiar face on this flotilla, and maybe–just maybe–they’ll be able to help.
Meanwhile on the ground, Cael is determined to find his way to Gwennie–and Boyland is determined to not make his path easy. Hobos, raiders, the Sleeping Dogs…and all the while Cael has his own problem brewing. One he has no idea how to solve…or if there is a way to do such.
This is the perfect example of what a second portion of a trilogy should be. It expands into more conflict, questioning who the real enemy is, and sets up the ultimate conflicts–the ones we aren’t sure can be solved. As much as I love to believe that regardless of anything, the protagonists will come out fine in the end…I’m not sure what exactly “fine” looks like in this world. I’m not positive that everyone’s going to make it out of this.
And I LOVE it.
There are so few books that really make me question whether or not it’s all going to end the way we want it to. I want Cael and Gwennie to have a happy ending. I want Wanda to find happiness somewhere (else). I want good things for Balastair. I want so many things…and I’m not sure any of them can happen. Any time I can be that in the dark about the ending of a book, I’m pleased.
Besides, the end of this book is an AMAZING cliff-hanger. Talk about not knowing how things are going to turn out.
I’ll keep this one short because NO SPOILERS. Phew.
Rating: **** (Recommended)
I am not lost... 