This 'bridge' book (filling the gap between the beginning and end of a trilogy), and indeed the series thus far, are well written grand quest fantasy. I read this second entry with an eye to how well it works as a standalone and the answer is, not very well. I recommend reading the series in order to get a feel for the characters and world building.
The protagonist is young and despite being powerful, she's still learning her capacities and adjusting to the idea of leadership. I felt that she was written sensitively and in character and even though I felt like poking her and saying 'grow up!' sometimes, it was in character and her motivations were well placed. The author gets a fair bit of allowance from me for the immaturity since this really struck me as mostly a YA/NA series.
The world building is solid with a myriad of characters but they're generally so well drawn and distinct that I've had no trouble keeping them apart in my head.
My only small quibble with the book is some of the names... they were distractingly modern American (Carol, Alan, etc). According to the dedication, the author's wife is called Carol... so that's sweet. I felt myself falling out of the story fairly regularly because of the names. All in all, not a very big issue.
Definitely worth a read for fans of quest/campaign fantasy.
Three and a half stars. Entertaining and readable.
Worth noting for Kindle Unlimited subscribers. This title is available in the KU subscription.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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