Rating: 5
Stars
Things
pick up right where we left off. Mari
and Nik and their canines are fleeing in a boat from the angry Thaddeus and his
followers who murdered Nik's father and blame Mari for that and the raging fire
that fell down upon the tribe and is currently burning its way through the
forest. They freed the slaved Earth
Walker women and now much fight to save more people. The time for hiding is over, Mari is a moon
woman, half companion, and fully herself.
She will do whatever she can to help her clan but she will not hide who
and what she is anymore and wants to make something new and better. Nik is right there with her in creating
something new and while it won't be easy and they have many difficulties to
face along the way as long as they believe in one another there is always
hope.
First
and foremost I loved the characters.
Each one was different and unique and I really enjoyed the different
voices they had to offer the story. We
saw things from many different sides, creating a larger whole. The Earth Walkers, the Tribe of the Trees, and
the Skin Stealers. Each group only has a
small bit of knowledge of the other never fully understanding or knowing
them. They each have made assumptions on
them with that limited knowledge and never bothered to learn more. It's hard to change ingrained ways. Its even harder to admit your ways were wrong. I love how related everything is. How coming together, like Mari and Nik, and
sharing different experiences and information how similar they are.
We
get to spend time with way more companions as well which I adored because come
on dogs and an amazing lynx what could go wrong there? I admit freely to growling while listening at
times when something happened and it was felt by one of the animals, maybe it's
the audiobook or maybe I'm strange but yep I growled. I'm going to go with being really into the
story. Bast may be my favorite new
addition. Getting to know the lynx was
fun as her personality is very different than the pups we are used to but so is
her dynamic with her companion. I can't
say enough how much I enjoyed getting to see the different types of people in
this world as it continues to grow. I'm
especially excited to meet the next group that should be in the next book!
The
story and plot both keep things moving along as there is always something
happening. I was invested in the
characters both good and bad and seeing what would happen and how things would
meet up or relate as it continued on. I
my feelings for some shifted through the book on both sides, characters I didn't
care for I started to enjoy and root for while some I did like started to lose
their affection. I love how everything
is fluid as with nature and personalities when confronted with new
experiences. It's not a constant action
packed extravaganza but that isn't the type of story it needed to be. There is a lot happening behind the scenes,
plotting, planning, and emotional conflict, discoveries, and more to keep the
story moving along as it grows. Plus as
with everything I have read by Cast I love her humor. She finds a way to infuse some hilarious
moments throughout. I would randomly
find myself bursting out with a fit of laughter at some parts and then having
to go back because I couldn't hear the next part I was too loud.
"Hey, I'm muddling an enormous amount of poppy tea to drug a bunch of people. Partially to alleviate their pain and partially to shut them up."
I
really enjoyed this book. I even enjoyed
it more than the first one as I was familiar with the world and I fell right
back in. My only problem with having
finished it within a week is that I don't know when the next book will come out
and I am beyond excited to learn more.
As with the first book we left off right at the end of a pretty HUGE
thing that had us eager to find out what would happen next. We again leave with so much anticipation for
more it's almost painful to have to sit and wait for the next installment, but
wait I shall because I am hooked! As a side note as much as I loved the audiobook I also enjoyed following along with the end of chapter sketches in the physical/digital book too!
Until
next time…
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