Read wRite RunAn avid reader and runner. I like to spend my spare time with my dogs Reese and Orion.
Empire of the Damned was so hard to put down. Full of anxiety-inducing-non-stop danger and the knowledge that not one character is ever safe. If there’s one thing the first book taught me it’s that anyone could be killed at any moment and this was a feeling that hung over the entirety of the sequel.
I was casually into reading it at first, and didn’t have particularly strong feelings about it either way. Things picked up up and before I realized it I was already around the halfway mark. This is the kind of book you don’t realize how deeply immersed in it you are until you clue into how much of it you’ve actually flown through in no time at all. It hooks you into the plot before you even notice and then you’re a goner because you need to find the answers the characters are seeking, while trying to put things together for yourself.
This one kind of snuck up on me, because as interesting as the book sounded to me, it was one of those books that far exceeded what I thought to expect and ended up being one of those books I couldn’t put down, and yet didn’t want to end because I just needed more of it. More of the story, more of the world, more of the characters.
I was immediately sucked into the circus where this book takes place, and the wonderful unique creatures that live and work there were so fascinating and seemed perfect creations to be a part of this circus. The Elementals are a people both ostracized by humans, and forced to band together to survive as they have been targeted and attacked by others. Enter Harrow, whose entire clan was slaughtered and who is the only survivor of said clan. This circus is where she has taken refuge, though she has kept her identity secret from most everyone for her own safety, particularly as she is a very rare type of Elemental, a Seer.
A bonus for the final book in the duet; it’s basically twice the length of the first and it’s worth every page written as it doesn’t suffer from slow points or unnecessary feeling scenes. Each moment matters, and if anything I just want more.