Well, surprise surprise, I loved the sequel way more than the original. I know I’m in the minority of folks who always seem to love a sequel more than the original but especially with fantasy, the more I know the world, the magic, the characters – the more deeply I can immerse myself. Now that I’ve read more African mythology based fantasy, it was much easier to settle in with orisas, iyalawo, ajogun, babalawo, oyinbo etc as concepts.
I was so bought in with Simi this time and as much as I loved that this was a mermaid story, I liked the adventures on land even more. Don’t get me wrong, you get plenty of underwater action but 3/4 of the action takes place on land. And boy is there action in this one! There are some stunning betrayals and heartbreaking losses as the story progresses. I loved the focus on storytelling and song as well as community and forgiveness.
The ending is pitch perfect. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Read this one if you like Children of Blood and Bone, Raybearer or A Song of Wraiths and Ruin.
Thanks to Random House Children’s for gifted access via Netgalley. All opinions above are my own.
What’s the last sequel you liked better than the first book?
openmypages 