Release Date: 19/02/13
SYNOPSIS:
Touchstone, the magical theatre troupe, continues to build audiences. But Cayden is increasingly troubled by his elsewhens, the uncontrolled moments when he is plunged into visions of the possible futures. He fears that his Fae gift will forever taint his friendships; his friends fear that his increasing distance will destroy him.
REVIEW:
Having been left with a Meh feeling to the original, I really wanted to try the second part to see if the world building alongside the characters picked up. Its always tricky to read a second part when the first left you feeling a not only a little cheated but that you needed something extra especially from an established author.
Sadly for me, this book really didn’t pick up the series as much as I’d hope it would. The characters still didn’t feel fully rounded, the situations still felt forced and for me sadly this really led to the book dragging.
That said, Melanie has continued her remarkable world building by allowing the reader to see how others perceive the characters alongside their abilities and whilst it isn’t all smooth sailing, it really adds to the atmosphere. Sadly for me this book is just average (like the predecessor so I’ll be sticking to my original thoughts that if you want to read the author please go with her Dragon Prince trilogy over this, its vastly superior.
Release Date: 28/12/12
SYNOPSIS:
Cayden Silversun is part Elven, part Fae, part human Wizard - and all rebel. His aristocratic mother would have him follow his father to the Royal Court, to make a high society living off the scraps of kings. But Cade lives and breathes for the theatre, and he's good - very, very good. With his company, he'll enter the highest reaches of society and power, as an honoured artist - or die trying.
REVIEW:
Having read Melanie Rawn’s Dragon Prince Trilogy I was certainly looking forward to this new series published by Titan as I expected her blend of fantasy, magic and characters to take me on a new journey into the unknown.
So opening the book to the first page, whilst leaving me slightly confused more than intrigued me to keep going. What unfurls within is an imaginative world where theatres are the places of magic as groups of talented individuals band together to create something unique to earn themselves fame, money and of course the idolation of the masses.
It’s certainly something new, something almost wild which when added to a fascinating set of castes kept me glued just to figure out how it all worked alongside how each brought their talents to add to the greater experience.
That said, and whilst on the whole I did enjoy the book my main grumble is to do with the portrayal of the characters themselves, the felt forced into some of the situations as well as emotionally and developmentally deficient to really elicit the response that an author usually gets from a reader. It was at times a struggle to continue but I will read the next book in the series to see if it picks up now that a lot of the leg work has been established.
