Review: Riot of Smoke and Storm

Review:

I received a copy from Netgalley.

Will contain some mild spoilers for the first book. Spoilers will be hidden.

I remember very little about the plot of the first book, other than something to do with Elementals and a very similar plot to the Throne of Glass series but it held its own enough to keep my interest to want to continue this series and read the sequel. Thankfully there's enough information worked into the narrative that it's fairly easy to pick up on what happened in the first to continue with the second book. <spoiler>I have a vague memory of two big death scenes in the first that pushed MC Bree into finally using her powers and something to do with a reveal of a lost princess plot.</spoiler>

The second novel picks up immediately where the first one left off. Bree and her friends are escaping from the mad Egrian king and discover an Underground group of rebels who help them flee the city and start preparing for a war againt the evil Egrin king.

The beginning of this book was a struggle to get through for me. All I could think of again - how similar the plot was to Throne of Glass (mad king, lost princess with a special power) Even Bree's attitude is not dissimilar to that of the brassiness and arrogance of Celaena Sardothian.

Though once past the 30% mark, I pretty much finished it in a few hours yesterday. The second half of the book was much better. While the plot is not the most original, the story telling is enough to make it its own, and the characters did become much more engaging as the plot advanced through Bree's struggles of maintaining her powers, her big secret identity and dealing with bandits and being hunted by the king. The king is in possession of a dangerous magical weapon with potentially devastating consequences as Bree and co race to escape and find passage to the Nereid kingdom across the sea.

Cadan, the prince has fallen foul of his father's wrath and has his own storyline beside the romance with Bree. There was actually very little romance involved until almost right at the end of the novel but by then there was so much other important stuff going on it wasn't the most important thing.

One thing this book definitely has going for it is the extremely unique use of Elementals and how their magic works. Its a huge part of the plot and quite engaging. There's some good character development, and some good world building. A lot of plot advancement.

While I didn't find much of an emotional attachment to any of these characters really, and in spite of the TOG similarities, it is a well written and enjoyable fantasy in its own way. I am looking forward to the final instalment to see how it all wraps up.

Thank you to Netgalley and Patchwork Press for approving my request to view the title.

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1300144/review-riot-of-smoke-and-storm