The struggle for power continues in the sequel to The King of Bones and Ashes from Wall Street Journal bestselling author J.D. Horn.With their magic diminishing, warring factions of New Orleans witches desperately search for the Book of the Unwinding—a legendary grimoire, hidden by spells, that holds the key to unimaginable powers. As a ruthless struggle erupts in a maelstrom of malevolent magic, … maelstrom of malevolent magic, psychic Nathalie Boudreau finds her destiny intertwined with that of an exiled witch.
Her name is Alice Marin, a vulnerable young woman trapped in a realm of illusion. Only Nathalie can free her, but first she must come to understand and master her own extraordinary abilities.
Now, in a world where betrayals have become the order of the day, it will fall to two women to restore rightful balance amid terrifying chaos.
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I do like the characters, but I find the writing style to be a bit choppy. The POV switches are far too often. A plot line starts under one character, and I have to infer how that original plot line changed or finished up under another POV. Everything is all tied together somewhat, and so it’s not a huge deal, but I don’t like being left hanging and always trying to recall where a character was when I last saw them. However, I’m afraid I’m in far too deep to walk away now. This was book 2 of 3, and so I must stick this out through book 3 and see how things finish up.
I really enjoy reading and I enjoyed the other series by the author but this one is very difficult to read and to follow. There are so many characters they get confusing, the writing is very difficult to read (I feel a little uneducated to read). I think the author needs to look at the book and decide if it is a complicated book or a book that will be enjoyed.
Sometimes there are those books that you don’t read alone in the dark…this is one of those books (or if you have an overactive imagination like me you don’t read it when you’re home alone at nighttime because every noise you hear…). There is a creep factor to it and it’s awesome! Would recommend to those who enjoy dark fantasy mixed with real world authenticity.
As with the first book in the series, there is a lot of information and stories happening via different characters viewpoints. The author has helped remedy any confusion in the story by placing a character list in the beginning of the book- use it, it’s your friend. This book was easier to follow than the first and faster-paced in some parts (in my opinion).
Minimal spoilers below……..
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Similar to the first book: the story is a combo of fantasy mixed with real world authenticity, magic, witches, clairvoyant, New Orleans life style, young lovers, old lovers, betrayal, mystery.
Things that are new: Magic is disappearing from the world, while the witches of New Orleans are trying to keep it but are still scrambling from the previous events. The seven gates to the underworld are said to be located in New Orleans. Yes, there is more, but I’m not giving all the spoilers away. It’s hard to pick a favorite character because they each bring something unique to the story, but I look forward to seeing how Nathalie and Alice’s stories play out.
The details are once again phenomenal. The series has a darker tone and I would not recommend for those who are not into dark fantasy, faint of heart, or children.
I highly recommend the audio book. I started listening to the audiobook, tried numerous times to switch over to reading and ended up going back to the audiobook. The audiobook adds to the story as the narrator did a brilliant job. I find myself reading the not so good reviews and saying “if only they would have listened to the audiobook”…