Started: 18/04/22
Finished: 27/04/22
Spoilers: No
Plot
So I more or less feel the same about this novel as I did about the first. I enjoyed it but was left feeling like I wanted more from it. In that regard, the author remains pretty consistent with what I've seen from the series thus far. I'll also add that many of the positives and negatives I mentioned in my review for book one, transfer over to book two. I think this is why I've taken so long to write this review. I pretty much feel the same as I did at the end of the other book. So I won't bleat on too much in this review as I feel like I've already said everything I need to say in my other review.
First off, I'll start by saying that I enjoyed the heist element, though it did feel a little weaker than the heist we got in the first book. There was so much going on, so many convoluted threads that I often felt completely lost. Though it did all seem to come together at the end, I just wish it had all been slightly better explained.
Can't help but feel the book was longer than it needed to be. Much like book one, there's a lot of meandering and procrastination before we get to the meat of the story, the actual heist. And while I enjoyed the infiltration into the lord's house and the diviner role Romy played, I was still only 50% following what was actually going on and why. I know Romy needed the assassin list but by the time she actually attempted to steal it, I'd forgotten what its relevance was, and the story never reminded me.
Characters
Question: Why does Romy need to use her power and 'go into the zone' when pretending to be someone else? Like why? Seriously? There's a massive risk to the mission every time she does this because she loses herself, believing herself to truly be the character she's playing and only by hearing her true name does she snap out of it. But why does she need to do this??
Placidio doesn't need to do this in order to pretend, nor her brother Neri so why is it always so necessary for Romy to risk the mission in this way by forgetting her true identity? I don't get it, and the lack of reasoning just annoyed me in the end.
A new character is introduced, Teo. So much of Romy's storyline focuses on this random guy she finds in the water and I guess I just don't really know what purpose he served. I didn't feel invested in him at all. Thankfully he wasn't introduced as a love interest, but I can't for the life of me figure out why he was introduced at all. I mean, sure, he helped out a little during the team's mission and he was able to pull Romy out of her trance at the end but, as I said before, I don't even know why Romy NEEDS to go into a trance, so the significance of the moment cancels itself out from a simple lack of explanation.
My favourite character remains Placidio. He's very to the point and gets the job done. He's dry and grumpy but soft on the inside, and we all love a soft grump, don't we? I like the relationship he has with Neri, more than any other. He really comes across as a mentor/father figure to the lad and I feel the closeness and respect stronger between Placidio and Neri than I do Neri and his own sister.
Even though the characters are pretty decently developed throughout, I still don't fully feel like I know them. Some of them are just sort of there and I'd like to go deeper with each one. I want to know what really drives them to get up in the mornings and the things that keep them awake at night. I want to feel their personal stakes and their internal conflicts. I want those fears and disbelief and moments of self-doubt. I want them to feel more human. I want to deep dive into a character's psyche every time I meet one, but unfortunately, this set of characters still feels very shallow and surface-level to me.
I think a big part of the problem, in terms of my lack of connecting to the characters, is the absence of banter. There was very little humour in book one, and in this book, it's basically non-existent. Any good heist team need to have a great rapport with each other, tease each other, and bounce playful insults back and forth. It is a clear sign of a strong, comfortable relationship and too often these characters come across as too polite to each other. Where's the banter, man?
Setting
Not to sound like a broken record here, but I wanted more. In book one we get a decent foundation of the world and its politics. I'd hoped to see this built upon in a lot more detail. Unfortunately, the world felt more sparse than lived-in. And though it felt reasonably alive on the page, it didn't feel like the world continued to live when the characters weren't present. Like everything stops and ceases to exist the moment Romy's back is turned.
A disappointing lack of detail eluding to its Italian influence.
Writing Style
The writing once again, is the book's strength. Really solid writing with excellent prose. Though I wanted more development all around, I can't flautist the general writing style and syntax of the author. A very clean read, slow at times, but also pretty gripping in all the right places
Final Impression
Aaaaand...somehow I ended up bleating on. Didn't expect to have as much to say about this one, but I suppose as a book two, I wanted to see the issues I'd had in book one improved upon, and I was a little frustrated to see much of the same, if not a slight step down. I guess second-book syndrome is a real thing after all.
The thing is, there's nothing overtly wrong with anything in the novel and maybe the reason I find myself being critical is because I can see the potential of this being a truly awesome heist series, and by my personal estimation, it's not being reached. I just want so much more from this series and it never quite seems to take off.
Like I said earlier, a good read that I enjoyed but I just need more from it all around. It's like there's a wall up that's stopping me from getting too close to anything happening, preventing me from being able to fully invest in the characters. Nonetheless, I'm interested enough to pick up book three at some point.
Comments