Author: Namina Forna
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Published Date: May 31, 2022
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: ★★⍣☆☆
REVIEW
This book is the second in a YA trilogy about a girl with golden blood. In this world, if you have golden blood you can either be killed repeatedly, basically tortured over and over, or join and army full of other girls with golden blood, called alaki. Deka, the main character, chooses the latter, and makes a world changing discovery about where girls like her come from. I received an ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review. I enjoyed the first one very much and I was really hoping that it wouldn't fall trap to the second book slump that so many YA trilogies do. Sadly, I was wrong.
SUMMARY
'It's been six months since Deka has freed the goddesses and discovered who she really is. There are now wars waging across the kingdom. Otereans now think jatu are traitors to the nation. Deka is called a monster.
But the real battle has only just begun and Deka must lead the charge. Deka is tasked with freeing the rest of the goddesses. Only as she begins to free them, she begins to see a strange symbol everywhere in places of worship and worn on armor. There's something unnatural about that symbol; just looking at it makes Deka lose her senses. Even worse, it seems to repel her powers. She can't command or communicate with the new deathshrieks. In fact, she can't even understand them when they speak.
Deka knows freeing the goddesses is just the beginning. She can tell whatever dark force out is powerful and there is something sinister out there threatening the kingdom connected to that symbol--something merciless--that her army will need to stop before humanity crumbles. But Deka's powers are only getting stronger...and her strongest weapon could be herself.'
MY THOUGHTS
I really enjoyed the first book in this series, "The Gilded Ones". I thought that the world Forna created was incredibly full and, while I read a handful of books where the color of ones blood determines your future, I thought that in this world, she took it in a completely fresh direction. I loved the big reveal at the end and I was more that curious as to where this second book would go. The world seemed so fully built and I didn't know how Forna would be able to build upon what she had written without it becoming repetitive.
As much as I hate to say it, I felt that "The Gilded Ones" did fall into what I've heard as the 'second book slump'. There was so much foreshadowing that the reveals that were so well done in the first book felt very predictable. A lot of the time I find YA trilogies to follow the same formula and this did just that. Since it was a second book it mainly served as a set up for the finale, and where the first one built a great world, Deka discovered something that made her "question everything". One thing I very much enjoyed in the first one, the foundation and strength of many characters relationships, were not as well done in this second installment. And the romance was very much YA trope-y.
Overall, if you are a fan of YA trilogies then this book is definitely for you. It checks all the typical boxes and I think that's where it went wrong for me. It didn't necessarily feel fresh like the first one did. I loved the setting in the first one in the war camp, this one was spent travelling with a lot of repetitive battles. It felt like the overall plot got lost. The introduction of the new deathshrieks was interesting, as was the mystery surrounding the symbol that Deka keeps seeing everywhere, but it felt like the plot was not the main focus. This is where may YA series lose me. With so much war and life-changing secrets going on, why does every YA fantasy lead need a love interest? There would be no time for that when your life is constantly at risk like this. I wanted more focus on the friendships as well, but those also seemed to be brushed to the side. I don't think I'll be continuing the series, but then again, the third book is far off so I may change my mind before then.
Comments
Post a Comment