Synopsis
In the epic follow-up to the New York Times bestseller Sword Catcher, praised by George R. R. Martin as “everything I look for in fantasy,” Lin and Kel must chart a perilous course between love and lies.
Kel Saren, body double to Conor, crown prince of the dazzling city of Castellane, is caught between two worlds. In order to protect his beloved prince, Kel must find the culprits responsible for a massacre at the royal palace—and the only clues are held by the Ragpicker King, the notorious criminal who rules Castellane’s underworld. The trail Kel follows leads back to the Hill, where among decadent nobles and glittering parties a dark conspiracy to destroy the royal family has taken hold—a conspiracy headed up by the monstrous Artal Gremont, the man engaged to marry the woman Kel adores.
Meanwhile, Lin Caster must face the aftermath of the greatest risk she’s ever taken. To save the life of a dying friend, Lin has falsely claimed to be the Goddess Reborn, the legendary heroine destined to save her people. Now the terrifying—but strangely magnetic—leader of her people has arrived to test her powers. The price of failure is exile, and only through her alliance with the Ragpicker King can she continue to access the magic that may save her.
Then Prince Conor reappears in her life, demanding that she use her healing powers to cure the madness of his father, the King. Lin soon realizes the King is gripped by an ancient and terrible magic, one whose lure she cannot deny any more than she can deny her growing passion for Conor.
As the simmering tensions in Castellane reach a fever pitch, Lin and Kel must decide who to trust when any false move means death—or worse.
Review
At least five stars!
And that ladies and gentlemen is why Cassandra Clare is one of my top writers!
Writing a sequel is never easy and more often than not we have the middle book syndrome but fear not, you won’t find it here!
I am so invested in Kell, Lin and Conor story!!
A lot is happening here between dangerous conspiracies, ancient magic reawakening, trials to become a goddess, testing the bounds of loyalty and of course, love stories! These love stories are complicated with a dash of forbidden or we wouldn’t read a Cassie Clare story ;-)
Let’s try to give you a peek of what’s happening following the two main POV: Lin and Kel.
Warning: don’t read further if you haven’t read Sword Catcher yet or you will be spoiled ! Go read that book instead !
After the massacre of the Shinning Gallery, Kel has been tasked by Jolivet to discover who were the perpetrators.
Kel allied with the Ragpicker king, the crime lord of Castellane, and his crew Merren, Li An and Jerrod to gather clues and evidences. What is smart from Cassandra is that from snippets of outsiders POV we know the mastermind behind it but not all the details and we are waiting to see if Kel will understand too!
We are in the knowing but not the main characters of the story!
And so you just want to shout: « It’s her! It’s him! Be careful! » and urge Kel and crew to speed up before it’s too late!
It’s a brilliant writing strategy truly!
Lin has still one objective: to heal Mariam! And at the end of the first book she did something pretty infuriating to me: declaring herself the reincarnation of the Goddess to finally get access to all the books about magic!
Now it’s a race to see if she will learn enough magic to heal Mariam before being discovered as a fraud and exiled!
She has been plagued by weird dreams since getting the source stone and we can’t help but think that maybe, after all, she might be the goddess.
Lin is an admirable character being a doctor dedicated to her patients. That’s what will make Conor reach for her once more for a very delicate healing mission, one that will change the course of the story and be a tremendous yet dramatic asset for Lin!
All the while, our two characters pin for their forbidden crushes: Lin for the Prince and Kel for Antonetta. Lots of yearning, stolen kisses and agonizing feelings there, just like we love!
The story ends on a cliffhanger and a big twist! Or several twists! I had guessed some of the twists in the story as Cassandra Clare made them quite obvious but I also think she has distracted us with truckloads of hints for these obvious twists while artfully giving us some crumbs leading to those I never had guesses! Like a smokescreen if you want! Bravo!
And that folks is a demonstration of Cassandra’s mastery at her art! I was hooked from the very first sentence, read sitting at the edge of my seat and ended up awed!
Give me the sequel already!
Thanks for reading.
Sophie
I guess I’m the outlier on this book, because I thought it dragged until the very end. But the ending was so awesome though! I really can’t wait for the next book.
You have been having a great run with your reading lately. It’s wonderful when a follow up from a favorite author rises to and beyond your expectations.
Yes this month was very good!
Glad you liked it! I did too!
I absolutely adore that series Caro!