I’ve read some highly anticipated sequels and had to share. Since sequels have so much to do with the spoiler events from the first, I decided to put together some of my favorites here.
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Never a Hero by Vanessa Len
Despite all of the odds, Joan achieved the impossible. She reset the timeline, saved her family – and destroyed the hero, Nick.
But her success has come at a terrible cost.
She alone remembers what happened. Now, Aaron, her hard-won friend – and maybe more – is an enemy, trying to kill her. And Nick, the boy she loved, is a stranger who doesn’t even know her name. Only Joan remembers that there is a ruthless and dangerous enemy still out there.
When a deadly attack forces Joan back into the monster world as a fugitive, she finds herself on the run with Nick – as Aaron closes in.
As the danger rises – and Nick gets perilously closer to discovering the truth of what Joan did to him – Joan discovers a secret of her own. One that threatens everyone she loves.
Torn between love and family and monstrous choices, Joan must find a way to re-gather her old allies to face down the deadliest of enemies, and to save the timeline itself.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Talk about a sequel that is action packed from start to finish. With second books in a trilogy, there’s always a fear it’ll be a bit of a filler. A one step forward three steps back, but that is so far from the case for Never a Hero. This sequel is thrilling and had me screaming at the ending. Seriously. Wait with me in my angst bubble when you’re done ok? First of all, I love Joan. I’d fight for her and with her. The grief and loss she feels combined with the isolation, makes my heart weep.
There’s this distance between her life, her home, her family, her friends, and what she sees everyday. Haunted by these memories, nothing will ever be the same for Joan. And this introduces one of the main themes: who we are. When we become someone else, have different experiences, who do we become? Is there a shred of us, a universal piece of us, that remains? As we become re-immersed in the action, Len never lets a moment pass. It’s this Pandora’s box of rippling consequences that cements how difficult it is for Joan to pick a side in this war.
To escape unscathed, especially as a biracial, human and monster, person, with loved ones intact. Never a Hero is a time wimey thrilling sequel which will not let Joan run from the consequences of her actions before. It’s a sequel that continues to explore what we would do for family, what kind of family, and what family means. Find Never a Hero on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, & Blackwells.
The Midnight Kingdom by Tara Sim
A cataclysmic battle to save the city of Nexus has left the four noble heirs scattered across the four realms.
Taesia, the shadow-wielding rebel of House Lastrider, and Nikolas, the solider son of House Cyr, have been cast into Noctus, the realm of night. But they are not alone. The dangerous and unpredictable god of light has traveled with them, and he will do anything in his power to destroy Noctus once and for all.
Risha, the peace-loving necromancer of House Vakara, has finally found her way to Mortri, the realm of death. But she still cannot help the wayward spirits trapped in Vaega, nor does she have any idea how to get herself and her friend Jas home. All she knows is that no mortal can survive for long in Mortri. And the creatures that walk the realm of death don’t take kindly to the living.
Angelica, the stubborn elementalist of House Mardova, finds herself alone in Vaega. With the other three heirs vanished, it is up to her help keep the city of Nexus from unraveling. But Angelica secretly suffers from a sickness that her goddess left in her veins. And when she is sent on a delicate diplomatic mission, she knows that any sign of weakness will have disastrous repercussions for her family, her city, and her dreams of the throne.
All will encounter old friends and new enemies as they attempt to restore the balance of the world. But as the gods grow stronger, they’ll need more than their powers and their wits to survive.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
I was so excited to be back with my chaos group in The Midnight Kingdom. And this is a hefty sequel spanning distances and again with the multiple perspectives. The stakes are high in this second book. Coming straight from the finale of The City of Dusk Sim is increasing the danger and world possibilities. The Midnight Kingdom is full of twists and turns which expand the world into refracted light. One of my favorite things in this sequel were the exchanges between our babies and the Gods.
Because these gods are embroiled in wars, obsessed with revenge, and interested in their own power. There’s a cruelty to their power, a callousness, because to them their lives are so much more than our main characters. They can disappoint us, test us, force us to go beyond every limit. The Midnight Kingdom tears the characters apart and forces them to build themselves up again. To explore priorities, ambition, and loyalty. Find The Midnight Kingdom on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, & Blackwells.
He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan
How much would you give to win the world?
Zhu Yuanzhang, the Radiant King, is riding high after her victory that tore southern China from its Mongol masters. Now she burns with a new desire: to seize the throne and crown herself emperor.
But Zhu isn’t the only one with imperial ambitions. Her neighbor in the south, the courtesan Madam Zhang, wants the throne for her husband―and she’s strong enough to wipe Zhu off the map. To stay in the game, Zhu will have to gamble everything on a risky alliance with an old enemy: the talented but unstable eunuch general Ouyang, who has already sacrificed everything for a chance at revenge on his father’s killer, the Great Khan.
Unbeknownst to the southerners, a new contender is even closer to the throne. The scorned scholar Wang Baoxiang has maneuvered his way into the capital, and his lethal court games threaten to bring the empire to its knees. For Baoxiang also desires revenge: to become the most degenerate Great Khan in history―and in so doing, make a mockery of every value his Mongol warrior family loved more than him.
All the contenders are determined to do whatever it takes to win. But when desire is the size of the world, the price could be too much for even the most ruthless heart to bear…
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
We love a character who knows they don’t want to be great. They want to be the greatest. He Who Drowned the World is about ambition and power. About reaching to the stars. There were so many scenes here which have this resonance. One of my favorite is when one of the characters remark that the insults headed their way are ones the attacked always assume will hurt because it would hurt them. About these old wounds, He Who Drowned the World is about the lines of alliances and bargains made, compromises won.
He Who Drowned the World is a fabulous series ender. How our gambles pay off and sometimes we just barely escape. It’s expansive on a masterful scale. With emotional and action intensity, this sequel is about the things we don’t dare to feel, or want, the things we – with tooth and nail – we try to secure. All the ways the world sees us and how we see it. And what if we did all of that to secure the world all to find out that power doesn’t mean love or respect – just fear and power? Find He Who Drowned the World on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, & Blackwells.