Thank you to Harper Voyager for providing this book as a digital galley in exchange for an honest review!
One Sentence Summary:
In this sequel to A River Enchanted, Jack and Adaira must reunite to save Candence from the faerie Bane and internal conflict.
My Review:
Rebecca Ross’s A River Enchanted Duology is truly amazing. This is the sequel to A River Enchanted, a Scottish-inspired fantasy novel about magic, music, and the elements.
Our characters in this novel are awesome. Obviously I love Jack and Adaira, but also Torin and Sidra!! I’ve probably said this in my review of the first book, but this is a rare instance of me actually liking main characters more than side characters. These people are all just so interesting, and I found myself just flying through the POVs with everyone, even more so than in the first novel. That’s info for the paragraph about writing, but I think it’s relevant that the characters are all so compelling and deep that you want to read more no matter who’s narrating. That’s all I really have to say here!
The romance in these books is immaculate. One thing about A Fire Endless is that all of the main characters are actually already in stable and permanent relationships. There are outside factors straining them (distance, power, magic, etc.), but there’s also a comfort in knowing there’s no romantic turmoil. I do think I like Jack and Adaira’s relationship more than Torin and Sidra’s as we got to see it develop from an earlier point, but both are crammed with mutual respect and love for both the other person and those they love.
Lastly, plot and writing and worldbuilding! I still think everything about the writing of this series is astounding. It creates the perfect balance of suspense, worldbuilding, feelings, and more. I don’t have a single negative thing to say. As I said above, this book flows INCREDIBLY well, even better than the first book in the series. READ IT.
This book is definitely a sequel that lives up to the standard of book one. It’s great for those who want a tame adult fantasy or even a bridge between YA and adult that isn’t NA, more of an intro adult. It’s the perfect combo of intricate and readable to the point where you can see how much energy has gone in, but the reader doesn’t need nearly that much work to understand it. I can’t recommend this duology enough!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
The Fiction Feature 