I’m hopeful that the epilogue served not only as a closure to the duology, but also as a hopeful door to a possible spin off series. Cordova has a real strength to her world building and I loved getting to travel around Puerto Leones, visiting different villages, as well as their time spent at sea. Main characters are assumed White; same-sex marriages and gender equality at the warfront appear to be the norm in this world. Continuing the story of Renata Convida, she has been forced to escape along his once most ardent enemy, prince Castian, trying to live incognito while they find a way to retrieve the long-lost magical item, the Knife of Memory, which should end the unjust rule of King Fernando.

Today is my stop on the Hodderscape Illusionary blog tour and I’m happy to be sharing my review of what’s become one of my new favourite duologies. Whether this could have been fixed with multiple POV’s, or making the series a trilogy I’m not sure. The narrative and the plot itself were so well written and I loved how the pace held steady and the tension in every chapter. She is incredibly resilient, but we get to see her feel the pull of the two worlds more in this book, she may have hated Castian but that changes the more time she spends with him and the more of her memories of their past come back to her, but she also feels beholden to the Whispers, even after they betrayed her, and before long she will have to make the choice of who to put her faith in. I also wasn’t particularly satisfied by the ending, but I suspect other readers will really love it.Overall, while this conclusion wasn’t for me, I think that readers who really enjoyed the first one will probably be equally satisfied with this installment. There is a Moria legend that says our Lady of Whispers watched over all of us from her floating temple in the sky. I find it interesting to see which random reels go unexpectedly viral, you can just never guess which ones will get the most views. In this thrilling conclusion to the Hollow Crown duology, Zoraida Córdova weaves an epic finale brimming with adventure, romance, and justice.

Still, the greatest danger is within Renata - the Gray, her fortress of stolen memories, has begun to crumble, threatening her grip on reality. I felt it was easy to read Castian and his emotions so clearly which is a testament to Cordova’s writing. She is definitely one of the most complex fantasy characters I have ever read, she is plagued by her past deeds and how she is viewed as a villain by many people while attempting to be the kingdom’s saviour. Renata’s heart may still beat for Dez, but as the danger of their quest increases, so does her attraction to Castian. Join our community to get personalised book suggestions, extracts straight to your inbox, 10% off RRPs, and to change children’s lives.The sequel begins a couple of weeks following the events of Incendiary and I was delighted to re-immerse myself in the rich world of Puerto Leones that the author has created. She’ll have to control her magics, her mind, and her heart to unlock her power and protect the Moria people once and for all. This YA Fantasy picks up where the series opener INCENDIARY left off and boosts the adventure and romance in equal parts. Renata and Castian they both share the storyline where they were the villains, the spies, the good ones, enemies, friends.

All props are designed to pack down effectively for transport and most of the illusions can be performed surrounded or with audiences on three sides. Sometimes you find a duology where the first book sets up the world-building and plot so skillfully that the second book can expand upon them, develop the characters, and go in new directions that make it even better than the first. She’ll have to control her magics–and her mind–to unlock her power and protect the Moria people once and for all. I did not have much faith that I would enjoy the conclusion of this story just because the elements Cordova wove together and the consequences of bringing King Fernando to his knees did not give me much hope.It didn't matter that the words were barely audible; it didn't matter that the dragon had no language to understand them.

Waiting for this book is a unique form of torture, but while we suffer, we can always reread the first book and scream as we feast our eyes upon this cover!

On one hand she know’s working with Castian is the best way to get to the Knife of Memory and kill his father, but she’s also not sure she can trust him after all the crimes he has committed against the Moria.