Realms of Mist & Ash - Book 2
Title: Realms of Ghosts and Magic: Fae Witch Chronicles Book 2
Author: J. S. Malcom
Genre: Adult Urban Fantasy
Rating: Four Stars
In Book 2 of the Fae Witch Chronicles,
we jump in right where we left off — with Cassie trying to figure out how to
save her recently abducted friend. To do that, she must enter Faerie, which is a
risky endeavor to begin with, and an undoubtedly harder venture when she’s
trying to free a changeling. That’s never been done before, but that’s exactly
what has to happen if she plans on rescuing her best friend. So when she runs
into Cade, a half-blood thief who offers to help, Cassie couldn’t be more
relieved.
As the two begin to dig deeper into
the labyrinthine fae city kingdom, Cade schools Cassie on all things fae.
Namely, how it came to be that just a few fae now control all of the magic in
their realm and how several missing humans have been spotted around town. Unfortunately,
her best friend isn’t one of them, but just as Cassie and Cade begin to unravel
the truth, they’re ambushed by fae slave traders. Cassie suddenly finds herself
stripped of her magic and held captive in a noble house, which doesn’t turn out
to be an entirely bad thing, because she makes a few new friends along the way
and she’s able to uncover inside information that might help her turn the
tables of magical power in Faerie. All she has to do is escape before the fae
go after their next conquest: the human realm.
It’s all very action-packed, witty,
and worth the read. With that being said though, I will admit that I’ve sat on
this review for a few weeks because, while it is beautifully written and
immensely entertaining, I couldn’t help but notice how much the author expects
of his (or her) audience. Cassie has a big story to tell, with lots of
characters and creatures and realms spewing out all over the place. Even for a
seasoned reader, it’s sometimes hard to keep up, especially because these two
books tie into another series. Therefore, while I highly recommend the series,
I would add that you should get nice and familiar with the notes and
highlighting features on your reading device or that you read them all in one
sitting.
