Title: The Perilous Sea
Author: Sherry Thomas
Format Acquired: eARC
Publication Date: September 16 2014
Publishing House: Balzer + Bray
ISBN: 0062329383
Source of Copy: Edelweiss
Summary:
After spending the summer away from each other, Titus and Iolanthe (still disguised as Archer Fairfax) are eager to return to Eton College to resume their training to fight the Bane. Although no longer bound to Titus by a blood oath, Iolanthe is more committed than ever to fulfilling her destiny - especially with the agents of Atlantis quickly closing in.
Soon after arriving at school, though, Titus makes a shocking discovery, one that makes him question everything he previously believed about their mission. Faced with this devastating realization, Iolanthe is forced to come to terms with her new role, while Titus must choose between following his mother's prophecies or forging a divergent path to an unknowable future.
(Image and information courtesy of Goodreads; Summary lifted from actual book)
Review:
The Perilous Sea is the sequel to the Burning Sky which I reviewed HERE. I'm going to keep this short to avoid spoilers.
The Perilous Sea begins at the end of summer holidays. Titus and Iolanthe, who thought they would be spending it together, are finally reunited and are more determined to bring down the Bane. Their plans get messed up when Titus makes a surprising discovery in his mother's diary that makes him question her prophesies and drives a wedge between him and Iolanthe. But prophesies are prone to misinterpretation and is Titus willing to deviate from what has been foretold and try to forge his own path?
What's different about this sequel is how Thomas writes two separate timelines at the same time and does it well. It was not confusing and the point where the two timelines converged was surprisingly seamless and natural.
If you've bothered to read my review on the first book you can see that I was generally okay with it - a little slow, way too perfect characters. But things have changed in the second book and Titus and Iolanthe have done a little growing up and their relationship is one I am totally rooting for. (more kissy scenes in this book people) What I liked about these two characters was their resilience in the face of intense hardship. A lot of things didn't go as planned and they had to find a way to either deal with it or risk getting smothered by defeat.
Thomas also puts more emphasis on the secondary characters and did a really good job with their personalities. Her characters all had roles to play and when unveiled left me rather surprised - in a good way.
The pacing in the first book was rather slow and only seemed to pick up halfway into the story. The second book is totally different seeing as it offered up plot twist after plot twist tossing Titus and Iolanthe into a variety of difficult situations so much so that defeating the Bane seemed pretty much hopeless at one point.
The ending? Epic. This is one of those rare sequels that manages to outshine it's predecessor and fans of The Burning Sky will be more than pleased with this book. I cannot wait for the next book and I can only hope that it's even better than this.
Rating:
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