Review: I love this world!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 9, 2014
This review will probably contain bits that may spoil the first book if you haven’t read it. The characters in this book got together in the first book. I’m not sure how to talk about the plot in this one without mentioning things that happened in the first one. I apologize now! I’ll try to be careful…This story picks up a turn after the last one ends. Kelnaht has been having a secret affair with two elves, Ianys, his former lover who dumped him for a female elf he knocked up. I’m not sure how I feel about him… He lied and cheated on Kelnaht, then his lover made him promise to stay away from Kelnaht before she died after having a child, then he started an affair with a shunned elf. Meanwhile Kelnaht was alone and devastated. Not cool! His other secret lover is Taruif, the shunned elf. We have learned what caused his shunning, and it is tragic. Taruif has been alone except for Ianys sneaking off to see him, pining for Kelnaht, as Kelnaht has been pining for him as well. It’s all just a hot mess. So that’s where we start with the relationship aspect of the book.This story contains another mystery, there is a missing stripling that Kelnaht and Brem, with the assistance of a group of elves, are trying to locate. He’s vanished during a hunt with his father and some others. Again, Kelnaht and Brem are using observation, hunting for visual clues, and magic, hunting for traces of where the kid has passed. It’s very interesting, very modern feeling in their investigation. One of the many things I like about these books is the contemporary feeling they have, even though they arent. They have none of the flowery language some fantasy books have, sort of a fake medieval feel to them. These have names and words that are from Blaine’s imagination, but it’s not overdone and works well. The mystery is well thought out, the crime makes sense to me, I can understand why the perpetrator did what they did. Well, I can’t in my head, but I see why that person thought it made sense.I did get a better understanding of the community in this book, it is longer and had time for more details. It’s a wonderful world I want to know more about! I’m still curious about some of the other characters and their roles in the community…The relationship developing between the three elves is intriguing, I’m still having a hard time with Ianys. And I like that. I like that a writer can make me question whether I like a character or not. It’s ok to not like someone in a book, I’ve come to realize. I don’t exactly dislike him, I’m just not sure I trust him! I do have to mention I like a bit more intimacy in the books I read, I would have like a bit more sex between the three elves.Anyway, this second book is as good as the first, great story, world, characters, mystery, solution, and writing! I can’t wait for the next one!A copy of this book was provided for reviewing. The original review posted at [...]