Books and Ashes

What I liked: I loved Miera, from the beginning of the book I enjoyed her. She showed from the first chapter that she is a strong character who would not be told what she is allowed to do. We learn her story, because as things unfold over in America with Ari, things are happening in Sparta that could change many things on its own. The hierarchy was complex and well thought out, it made me happy to see how much thought had gone into making the hierarchy. It wasn't simple, but rather complex and had interesting rules that were tradition to the Pantheon's. The minor characters were ever interesting, and you could see that some of them would play a bigger role in the story. Especially Thalia, she became a very important part of the story for much of the book because of Miera. Her role was very important, and I was very sad to see her not be more of a part of the story than she was. Her death does set many things into motion both in Sparta and in America with Ari, which gives her an impact in both books. Also, everything on that cover is important, but it's also incredibly gorgeous. This author has some really gorgeous covers for this series so far.

What I didn't like: I felt that some parts were rather rushed, that they could have been better if they were longer, especially the battles. I just didn't jump on it because the battles were lacking and there wasn't as much action in those parts as I was hoping. Miera is a trained warrior, and though she is "balanced" and hold a strong faith in Gaea, I just felt like she would have been more of a warrior than she was shown to be.

Overall Review: While I didn't enjoy some parts of the book, the complexity and the roles all the characters played in what happens in Sparta were quite large and some of the characters impacted both of the books. The writing was still something that drew you in and kept you turning the pages, but everything was more certain because of the first chapter on what would happen and who would be surviving in a sense.

Recommend?: Yes! I really enjoyed it and it's a wonderful continuation of the series! I'm really excited to see what's in store for book three, Of Chaos! Makes you wonder what's going to be happening with that title, doesn't it?