Hello
readers! I hope you had a great weekend. I completed my first rosette cake, a smash
cake for one of the two 1st birthday parties I went to on Saturday, my
birthday, so it was full of sweets and birthday cheer! I think the cake turned out very good! I'll post pictures below. What I really wanted to discuss today is a
newer release, Firewalker by Josephine Angelini. This is the sequel to Trial by Fire which I
reviewed here. I was beyond excited to
get this book as I had been waiting a long time for it. This being a sequel there will be some spoilers
for the first book as this picks up at the exact moment Trial by Fire left us
hanging.
Rating: 5 Willstones
Worlds
divided, magic slays, and love lies.
That's
the tagline. Lily is back in her own
world, and she's ready to start a new life with Rowan by her side. After healing from her near death Pyre
incident. She now must hide her magic for obvious reasons. Still things seem much easier than the near
constant threat of death she faced in the other Salem with the monstrous Woven
and her evil other self. Still other
her, Lillian, the ruthless ruler of the other word is not willing to let her
and Rowan go. She decides if she can't
reason her into coming home she will force her hand in any way necessary.
Firewalker
was my other must have release of September 1st and I got right to it. First I have to mention the cover change. Now I loved the original cover for book one but the new ones are even prettier. It's even pretty naked. Now I'm not a huge fan of my covers not matching but still it's pretty. Also there is a novella between the two books, it's not necessary it's just from Rowan's perspective as he finds Lily and believes she is Lillian and how he comes to realize that isn't the case. As I mentioned Trial by Fire may have left us
with a cliff hanger, Lily and Rowan about to jump worlds after he said he was
sticking with her always. Super
sweet. Well they jumped. Downside is that Lily is in seriously bad
shape after staying on pyre so long for her first time first fueling her army
and then for the world jump. She needs
her mechanics attention. Turns out
coming home also has some troubles besides healing up. Apparently when you go missing for weeks on
end the authorities get involved.
Rowan
is put into a work he is completely unfamiliar with and tasked with saving his
witch with the help of her mother who's head isn't always in this world and her
sister in this world, a nurse, who isn't sure what she believes. Tristan of her
world is there as well, he has been worried for her since she disappeared. Her Tristan is like Rowans best friend, he
has the power to be a strong mechanic inside of him but in a world without
magic he was never awoken but with a witch in this world, and a powerful one,
there will be those now drawn to her power if not knowingly.
Lily
quickly makes a new group of friends and at Rowans insistence her own
coven. There is a lot going on and we
see it from different perspectives which was interesting. There were also lots of flashbacks/memories
that Lillian shared with Lily trying to make her see her side of things and
convince her to return. I liked seeing
the reversal of roles, Rowan in an unfamiliar setting. People questioning him. Though it was like a walk in the park
learning to navigate the new world with the internet and such vs constantly
being on the move and attacked from all different sides from the cities and the
Woven.
That's
all I can really say without giving any spoilers. Now I want to talk about the characters some
more but I have some serious things to say and some will be spoilers. You've been warned so read on at your own
discretion.
Lily. She has grown so much since the first
book. She has come into her power and
while it does call to her she is able to resist it and is scared of the
feelings it gives her, making her want to lose control. I agree with Rowan here, her being careful
and fearful of losing control makes me think she will never be like Lillian in
the sense that she respects the power she was given more. Still seeing her in her own world, where she
left broken hearted and weak and coming back strong in many ways and with the
love of her life there with her was great.
She had a huge crush on Tristan and had thought something was finally
happening between them when she caught him with another girl and then proceeded
to have an episode and went straight to another world. Seeing her face him again, I was proud of the
way she handled herself. Even as things
turned bad and she could have easily sought out solace in him, in that way, she
didn't and I really liked that.
 |
| New Cover for book 1 |
On
the flip side, her other world self Lillian changed some too. Not so much the character changed but our
understanding of her changed. She has
always said she has a reason for the evil she has done and she will be the
villain to let him stay the hero, that she really loved Rowan and that what she
did to him was out of love. I always
thought she had knocked her head or got a bit to high on witch magic with that
line of thought. Every good villain
always thinks they are doing what is best.
Still seeing her memories and how her good intentions were turned against
her and would create something none of her world would survive I
understood. I still don't agree with her
methods and don't think I could ever forgive her some acts, but I understand
what was driving her. That was a unique perspective
to have. Understanding of the villain of
the story.
Then
we have Rowan. I was cold to him at the
start of the first book because he was kind of an ass. As the story wore on I understood him and his
reasoning and conflict but grew to love him.
I was just so happy for him and Lily.
Still I knew something was off from the start. Knowing everything he had been through I even
suspected things. Still these two suffer
from a huge obstacle. Lies and half-truths. I think so much of this could have been
cleared up with honesty, it would have sucked and it would have hurt but I think
it would have been understood and then everyone would have been on the same
page. I also think if Lillian had just
been honest she could have saved so much trouble. While I understand the desire to protect the
one you love from that information, I think in the end it would have been
easier for him to take. I thought Rowan was a strong character and I think both
Lillian and Lily sold him short on what he could handle. Lily in particular who is always upset about
him trying to decide what she can and cannot handle. Though my views on Rowan
change by books end.
The
journey of this book, trying to understand the past and find a solution for the
future of this world is epic. Facing the
different woven, trying to understand them and feeling their may me more to
them. Firewalker let me more heartbroken
and in a state of emotional duress than the first book and all I want is to
know what happens next and hope that some things can be fixed, though I'm not
sure they have not passed the point of no return.
*****Spoilers*****
Really need to discuss so only read this next paragraph if you've finished
Firewalker*****
*****Spoiler rant over*****
That's
all I have to share about Firewalker. I
did enjoy the book, though it left me an emotional wreck and in desperate need
of the next book. I highly recommend
this series to anyone who enjoys fantasy, magic, witches, parallel universes, rebellions,
constantly evolving characters and all that good stuff. Just be prepared to be in shock and awe. Tell me what you think in the comments
below. Have you read Firewalker
yet? Tell me what you think about my
rant, though please state spoiler in the comment to be safe. I'm dying to discuss this book with
someone! Until next time.
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