Yet, Percy kept faith. Within the mighty bastion of Athens Academy, alongside The Guard whose magic shielded mortals from the agents of the Underworld, she counted herself among friends. Wreathed in hallowed fire, they would stand together, no matter what dreams or nightmares—may come.
Comment: Practically six years after I read the first book, I finally managed to pick this second one and although I did remember some things, it was handy I had a small comment on the first (this is why I have a blog after all) because there was a lot I had forgotten too. Most of what I had forgotten was related to secondary characters, not as much about the protagonists, whom I still had an idea of.
In this second installment, recent couple Alexi and Persephone (Percy) just became engaged despite their tasks to defeat the evil that exists in this reality of the Victorian era. However, since Percy is a student, for them to marry something needs to be done and it is decided she will become a translator and be part of the staff at the school where they met and where most of the action takes place.
With several paranormal elements ongoing, it's up to the team of (now) seven people to finally defeat the darkness which has created so many problems for everyone. It is also known Percy will be a key element in defeating the evil presence they fight but will she be confident enough to do so, especially when she has always been too different and there are prophecies which predict betrayal. How will this affect the fight and the way the team is able to act?
This book starts immediately after the events which happened in the first (some came to mind again, as I was reading). This means it's better to read this book after having read the other for some details just don't seem to make much sense without prior knowledge.
This said, even after several years, several things came to mind again and I managed to follow what was happening easily enough.
This is a story that obviously combines Victorian elements and paranormal ones, which gives us a sort of alternate reality that, since it's based on established rules, makes it easier for the reader to follow. I liked this feel of things, some scenes are rather Gothic-like but it was especially interesting because of the relationships developed between the characters. Some things just had to work a certain way and I suppose more than the Gothic factor, it was the social rules one that probably influenced the author to pick this time as the setting for the series.
The romance between Percy and Alexei, which started in the previous book, reaches its conclusion here and they marry. The scenes with the two of them were appealing enough but very sedate. I liked the emphasis on how Alexei is careful in letting Percy know he does not care about her self perceived physical flaws but her spirit and mind are what makes her so attractive to him.
Yes, he desires her body but it was nice to see they do have an intellectual bond (and not just a paranormal one too).
As for the fight against evil, well it does follow the expected routes of the usual paranormal rules but it's easily accomplished too.
However, I must say, when I read the first book it seemed the books were to be a trilogy and now I see there is a continuation, some novellas.... I also paid better attention to the blurb of the third book and it's not as much a continuation of the events here, but a sort of prequel, more centered on events that propelled the situation dealt with in books #1 and #2.
I mean, fine by me but I'm now wondering if I want to read about things I already know how will be solved.
I do seem a little mercenary about this but to be honest, this installment was nice but not amazing and I did grade it a number lower than the first book. There are good things here, the story was very easy to read, some things were great but... there's this sense of detachment between myself and what is happening. The writing style is easy but not overly addictive. I feel glad I read this but I don't feel like I gained treasured memories by reading it.
As it is then, I think this was an entertaining story, had interesting elements and I did feel curious to see what would happen but the whole process until the end wasn't as special as I think this deserved.
Grade: 6/10
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