I thoroughly enjoyed this return to the world of To Kill a Kingdom. Fresh and fun, this is a take on Rapunzel, with the story of Selestra Somniatis, heir to a terrible magic which keeps the king immortal. Celebrated soldier Nox is on a mission to kill the king and avenge the disappearance and death of his father two years previously. but Selestra and Nox will be tied together by the King's bargain - in a series of near-death experiences, Nox and Selestra will come together to escape the castle and embark on an adventure with a butterfly, a seamstress, a cantankerous old inventor, and a host of dangerous and deathly circumstances.
This is a ripping adventure across the Six Isles, introducing us to ancient magics, psychic visions of death, a young woman who's never been touched, and a spooky magical tattoo of a snake. It's a riff on Rapunzel, so it's an isolated young woman making her way out into the big bad world and realising that perhaps those who were raising her weren't entirely honest about how the world works.
I liked lots of the side characters in this one, and thought it was well developed for the most part. I was quite confused, though, about the initial magic that set things off - for some reason Selestra's fate was tied to Nox's, which is what set them on the whole ripping adventure together, despite despising each other. But I don't understand how or why that happened, and it's never really... explained? Nox is tied to the King, and Selestra is tied to Nox, but Selestra doesn't seem to be tied to the King, despite having his mark on her hand?
Because this happened so early in the book, it irritated me the whole way through that we never got an explanation for this, and I was left kind of flat at the end of it.
Overall, though, a pretty enjoyable romp through a new kingdom linked to the world of To Kill a Kingdom, with a gentle opening left for a third installment to tie together these two stories.
This is a ripping adventure across the Six Isles, introducing us to ancient magics, psychic visions of death, a young woman who's never been touched, and a spooky magical tattoo of a snake. It's a riff on Rapunzel, so it's an isolated young woman making her way out into the big bad world and realising that perhaps those who were raising her weren't entirely honest about how the world works.
I liked lots of the side characters in this one, and thought it was well developed for the most part. I was quite confused, though, about the initial magic that set things off - for some reason Selestra's fate was tied to Nox's, which is what set them on the whole ripping adventure together, despite despising each other. But I don't understand how or why that happened, and it's never really... explained? Nox is tied to the King, and Selestra is tied to Nox, but Selestra doesn't seem to be tied to the King, despite having his mark on her hand?
Because this happened so early in the book, it irritated me the whole way through that we never got an explanation for this, and I was left kind of flat at the end of it.
Overall, though, a pretty enjoyable romp through a new kingdom linked to the world of To Kill a Kingdom, with a gentle opening left for a third installment to tie together these two stories.