Kate Googins
I loved the first half of this book! The pacing was even better than the second half of Book 1. However, the quality fell off quite starkly in the second half. The voices of Louie and Mazen seemed to change between book 1 and book 2 while only Aisha’s character development felt appropriately motivated. The rest of the characters felt oddly hollow. I think the core of the issue lies in the protagonist’s distrust of both jinn leaders that offer her a bargain. When a character doesn’t know who to believe, the author faces a catch 22: writing the character as authentically confused, misled, etc AND leading the reader emotionally to the right conclusion before the character catches up. I don’t feel like that happens here. Instead, the results of Nabila’s plans to destroy the bindings don’t seem to have consequences that mirror how vital the decision was for Loulie to do Nabila’s bidding. There also seemed to be a general lack of surprise on behalf of the Queen and her court when Dhabab finally rises to the surface unharmed when the bindings are destroyed. Didn’t they believe that destroying the bindings would also destroy their world?
Overall, an enjoyable read, but I had hoped for a more cohesive reading experience.
I loved the first half of this book! The pacing was even better than the second half of Book 1. However, the quality fell off quite starkly in the second half. The voices of Louie and Mazen seemed to change between book 1 and book 2 while only Aisha’s character development felt appropriately motivated. The rest of the characters felt oddly hollow. I think the core of the issue lies in the protagonist’s distrust of both jinn leaders that offer her a bargain. When a character doesn’t know who to believe, the author faces a catch 22: writing the character as authentically confused, misled, etc AND leading the reader emotionally to the right conclusion before the character catches up. I don’t feel like that happens here. Instead, the results of Nabila’s plans to destroy the bindings don’t seem to have consequences that mirror how vital the decision was for Loulie to do Nabila’s bidding. There also seemed to be a general lack of surprise on behalf of the Queen and her court when Dhabab finally rises to the surface unharmed when the bindings are destroyed. Didn’t they believe that destroying the bindings would also destroy their world?
Overall, an enjoyable read, but I had hoped for a more cohesive reading experience.