Rating: 5 Stars
Publication: September 17th, 2019
A Spark of White Fire #2
Genre: Scifi
Format: Egalley
Summary:
In a universe of capricious gods, dark moons, and kingdoms built on the backs of spaceships, a cursed queen sends her infant daughter away, a jealous uncle steals the throne of Kali from his nephew, and an exiled prince vows to take his crown back. Raised alone and far away from her home on Kali, Esmae longs to return to her family. When the King of Wychstar offers to gift the unbeatable, sentient warship Titania to a warrior that can win his competition, she sees her way home. She’ll enter the competition, reveal her true identity to the world, and help her famous brother win back the crown of Kali. It’s a great plan until her brother breaks her heart and she vows to destroy him for it. As gods, beasts, and kingdoms choose sides, Alexi seeks out a weapon more devastating than even Titania. The House of Rey is at war. And the entire galaxy will bleed before the end.
Thoughts:
Esmae is a morally grey character set on destruction. Her decent into darkness has cemented her as one of my favorite characters. I loved her sharp mind and strategizing. Full of rage and pain she will not be stopped. Shes determined to make the people who betrayed her feel her pain and I loved that drive for vengeance. Nothing turns to hate faster than love betrayed and nothing can tear us down to the core like family. Those scars run deep and its the people close to her that keep her from completely falling apart. Her ship Titania played a bigger part than I expected. I loved her chapters and her relationship with Esmae. The amount of secrets and knowledge she possesses made her chapters very intriguing. I also love being in the mind of any kind of artificial intelligence. Her feelings and dreams are processed differently, but no less real. An unbeatable war machine who hates the idea of being a destructive force.
Esmaes strained relationship with her mother and brother is the main focus, but theres also some cute romance and great friendships. I liked how the relationship between Esmae and Max didnt feel rushed. Max was a sweet love interest who fully accepted Esmae, darkness and all. His tendency to create was a good balance to Esmaes need to destroy. I thought the toy shop scene with Max was really heartwarming. Esmaes two closest friends her bodyguard Sybilla and childhood friend Radha felt well developped with their own flaws and qualities. I was thrilled to see them slowly develop feelings for each other in another case of opposites attract. Esmae also has a touching relationship with her Uncle, the King. She sees the good in him despite having stolen the throne from her brother. He's a kind ruler who truly cares about his people. What was even more moving was Esmaes relationship with the Goddess of War.
I really enjoyed the immersive storytelling with all its mind blowing twists and turns. It was so gripping I totally lost track of time and that rarely happens anymore. It was high stakes the entire time and despite the quick pace the characters felt real. Theres a good balance of inner and external struggles. I liked the complicated family dynamics and how both sides had their faults. The Trickster Gods schemes were super entertaining and kept me guessing. Then theres the characters exciting journey to the Empty Moon. Theres some revelations about the fallen god that seemed obvious to me, but I cant remember if its because we learn about it in the first book. Plus I still dont understand how a mother could choose one child over another, even with a curse. Those were just minor issues and overall this is a fantastic story with themes of family, love, grief, jealousy, betrayal, and vengeance.
I absolutely loved the world inspired by ancient Indian stories with its meddling gods, shapeshifting demons, and star devouring beast. I thought the spaceship kingdom setting was really awesome. The characters journey to the Hollow Moon was a lot of fun. They have to navigate a treacherous sea with dangerous beasts and a ice coated forest where they are confronted by huge wolves who demand their deepest and darkest truth. One of my favorite parts of the world has to be Titania, an indestructible sentient ship made by gods. I dont understand why they couldn't reattach a thumb with their advanced technology when we can do that now, especially since they do have a way of sealing wounds with a laser. The scifi elements dont have much logic behind them, but I really enjoyed the blend of fantasy and scifi and cant wait for the third book. Id definitely recommend picking it up if you're looking for a gripping and diverse space opera with dark and compelling characters.
Diversity: Indian, LGBT+ SC, Blind SC, Prosthetics
Trigger/Content Warnings: Violence, Murder, War, Massacre, Child Abandonment, Parental Abuse, Animal Attack,
*This book was received for an honest review
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