It’s been nearly two years since I read the first book, so I was excited to get back into this world! I loved the D&D vibe of the previous book.

Read: January 22 – January 26, 2024

Genre: High Fantasy; Sword & Sorcery
Audience: Adult
Book contains: death, non-explicit sexual content, swearing, revenge

Purchase a copy from Amazon.ca

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These Characters Desperately Need Group Therapy

Lady Alon Maer, wife of duke Kien Bartheylen, is pregnant and fallen grievously ill, so Kyer Halidan, alongside a knight in training, an elf, a dwarf, a mage, and a halfling, set out on a quest to search for the cure. Unfortunately, evil lurks in the shadows, waiting for any moment of weakness to sow seeds of distrust between the company. Suspicions are festering. Can their bonds withstand the onslaught?

It’s been so long since I read the first book, but I found that a lot of it came back to me as I read. Though I wish I remembered more details from the very end when she kills Ronav. Otherwise, I thought the introduction to the new quest and the new antagonists was well done.

I read this book the old-fashioned way as well, as I do not own the available audiobook. This took quite a while, as it was a decently long book.

Though written in third person, this book switches its limited perspectives to many different characters, either in the main party, the opposing party, or alternative characters that have much smaller roles. There are a few parts of the design that I don’t like, specifically how small the text is and that it’s printed on white paper (straining on the eyes), but I was more used to it after the first book, and since I know what to expect, I don’t think it’ll be as bad for the third.

The characters are all unique and fun to explore, but all of them share the same problem: they’re constantly getting in their own way—Kyer, Derry, and Jesqellen most of all. Most of them see the flaws in the others of their party, but don’t see any flaws in themselves, and only grow defensive when it’s pointed out to them. That’s what makes them so realistic. In their own minds, their actions are logical and the only course of action, and they don’t do everything right. I just hope in the next book they finally learn from their mistakes and grow (not much character growth in this one).

A big disconnect between the characters right away is that they go into the quest with lingering problems with one another, and they’re horrible at communicating these problems outright. Each of them have secrets, Kyer especially, and since she doesn’t think she can trust the others after their reactions to her escape from Ronav in the last book, she’s constantly lying to try and downplay what happens. This is a problem because now they know she’s lying, and it only escalates because Derry only ever seems to see the worst in Kyer’s actions, which is shown quite hilariously in some scenes that we get from Kyer’s point of view, and then later the same scene from Derry’s. The tension between them grows and grows, with the other characters caught in the crossfire.

I really loved this book. Despite not wanting to read it again due to its length, I gave it four stars. I enjoy Wallace’s style, which I’d expect to be closer to J.R.R. Tolkien in that she gives more description than faster-paced writers. Some of the scenes had me laughing out loud as she showed the same scene in different perspectives in a way that made sense from both ends, despite the massive gap of understanding between the characters.

Because of how intricate the descriptions are, this story drags on a little beyond the action of the quest and the strife between the characters. It’s written for readers who like a slow and steady story interspersed with mystery, misdirect, and manipulation.

Highly recommend this series to adult readers of fantasy and lovers of D&am;D! We’re always in need of a good quest story.

Related Reviews:

*The Gatekeeper Book 1: Gatekeeper’s Key by Krista Wallace*
*The Gatekeeper Book 2: Gatekeeper’s Deception Part I Deceiver by Krista Wallace*
*The Gatekeeper Book 3: Gatekeeper’s Deception Part II Deceived by Krista Wallace*
*The Aodh Generations Book 1: The Gift of Marmidon by Tiffany M. Rhys*
*War of the Elements Book 1: Prisoner of the Elements by Zian Schafer*
*Fenryr’s Chosen Book 1: Claws of Midgard by Des M. Astor*
*The Palladium by Thorsten Brandl*