This is the second book in the Grenshall Manor Chronicles. This one is set a year after the first.
I found the pace of this book a little unusual. The only way I can describe it is like a role-playing game. There is the expected gradual rise in tension and pace but it is a lot more spiky than in some books. I can see influences from lots of games in the world and the characters. I liked that. I instantly felt at home in this book.
BEWARE THIS BOOK! It broke my Kindle. Literally. I was sitting there reading it and the screen cracked to the point of uselessness before my eyes. It was bizarre and it took me a few weeks of owning my new one before I braved reading it again. Thankfully my new reader was more hardy to the powers within.
All of the main characters in this book are vivid and interesting. I am still a bit hazy about how some of the world building stuff hangs together but I presume that will become clearer in the final part. I think the author is trying not to give us information we don’t need yet but I can’t help wanting to see how the different realms are connected and the various ways to slide between them. That’s a good sign. There is no obvious romance in this series so far. Instead there is the love the comes through shared experience and friendship. That is a very powerful driver in this book.
This is a good fun read and I will be reading the third part.
Tony's Thoughts 