Changes

If anyone remembers my review of the first in this series, they'll know that I found the first part underwhelming and something of a mess of different genres, with steampunk, politics, magic, trolls, dragons, and romance all thrown together but not really meshing that well until the final third - which was outstanding, making Cold Fire one of my most anticipated reads of the year. This picks up where the first book left off, pretty much, with heroine Cat and her cousin Bea on the run from the mage houses, their family, the warlord Camjiata, and goodness only knows who or what else. It's a flight which will take Cat to Salt Island, in the Caribbean - your enjoyment of the book will largely depend on how much Creole you can read without getting annoyed, and I have to admit there were a few places where the accents grated on me. It will also take them into far darker places, and reunite her with her husband Andevai, still one of the most charismatically annoying love interests around. Oh, and to go with cold mage Andevai, there's the fire mage James Drake, creating a love triangle which has a real spark to it.

{{amazontext|amazon=1841498831}}