Previous book here.
You know, when someone asked me what I was reading when I was reading this book, I'd explain it to them and then they'd kind of have this blank, I am not into this sort of face. It's a shame, because this series is really, really well done.
I should probably put this review below the spoiler cut, but I'm going to be a bit vague and just say that while Millie's been doing something else for awhile, four months after the end of the last book she gets roped into the Arcadia Project again when she needs Caryl's assistance in dealing with the soundstage that the drama went on in the last book. However, they discover something super weird and unpleasant instead that appears to be a ghost, but is really a wraith--something they don't seem to have been aware of. Meanwhile, when Arcadia Project big shots come to town and one of them is killed in a warlock-style death, Caryl is reasonably assumed to have done it because she's the only one in the vicinity. Millie's not going to let her friend be executed for a murder she didn't commit and gets right on investigating who could have done it. It turns out that what the previous villain was plotting is still an issue...but WHY is the real kicker here.
They get the assistance of the Unseelie King, who has a history with Caryl and is emotionally affected by what she went through in Arcadia as a child due to him. I really liked this guy, actually. I wasn't expecting to like the Unseelie, but this book portrays them as generally reasonable people even if their life focus is on things we find unpleasant. For the most part, the king, his son, and even the manticore are pretty reasonable people and are easily convinced to be sensible about things. You don't normally see positive Unseelie portrayals in books--I think Seelie vs. Unseelie usually seems to boil down to "pretty but kinda evil and unpleasant, vs. ugly and really evil and super unpleasant" in the books that choose to portray them. But here? I kinda liked those folks a lot. Even a character that's revealed later and is terrifying is also...well, she's got her reasons and is easily dissuaded from the path of destruction. On the other hand, we also meet the Seelie Queen in this one and...honestly, that woman scared me a whole lot more! You can't be even a little bit negative around her, everything has to be happy happy joy joy because she reads you, and you'd better not just be quiet either because you can't bore her. I'm terrified of the woman! Millie's even worse at that than I am!
I did enjoy the character development of the manticore, who we start thinking is some kind of just random animal who attacks people, but Millie finds out he's actually...well, has hidden depths and skills. I really liked the guy, though uh.... let's say there's an emotional whammy that happens and leave it at that. I also enjoyed Parisa, who starts out as a pain in the ass client but turns out to mean more to the story.
As for Millie's Echo Claybriar, they get to spend more time together, uh, in between him having to deal with working for the Seelie Queen. Their relationship continues to be very sweet and lovely to read, even if they can't go quite all the way they would want to, and have feelings and/or nookie with other people. (And speaking of: Caryl still has a crush on Millie, but Millie restrains herself enough for the most part there.)
I did like how Millie's saner in this one--she's working on juggling therapy sessions with work drama-- but still makes a few whopping boo-boos here and there. (One really notable oops there...) But she makes it work. I like how Millie's essentially all, "Well, why don't we just TALK to people about why they are doing that?" and the fact that she can and does do that with various people is what leads to a solution. Of course, the solution that everyone comes up with is a surprise to Millie, to say the least.
Oh yeah, and during the course of this book Millie finds out something huge about the way magic and spells work in Arcadia, which leads to all kinds of ethical dilemma/discussion potential. Hoo boy!
Anyway, this was very good and it took me awhile to read just because I was dragging it out so it wouldn't end so fast. It was awesome. 4.5 stars again.
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