Elaine White's Life in Books

Book – Wraith Queen's Veil (The Sun Child Chronicles #2)
Author – Lou Hoffman
Star rating - ★★★★☆
No. of Pages – 350

Cover – Nice!
POV – 3rd person, multi POV
Would I read it again – Maybe.

Genre – LGBT, Fantasy, Young Adult, Child Kidnap/Slave Labour


** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK, BY HARMONY INK PRESS, IN RETURN FOR AN HONEST REVIEW **
Reviewed for Divine Magazine


The only problem with reading and reviewing an ARC is that you read a good book in a good series and you have even longer to wait for the next one, because you got it before it even hit the press, never mind had time to heat up.

Down sides? The format of the Prologue. It's going to be a theme for the series, considering it's in books 1 and 2, as well as the sneak peek of book 3. However, I don't like it. It introduces characters that have no real bearing on the story and gives too much information and too many characters to remember in a short space of time. The characters introduced in book 1 were important to the whole story, so that made sense. However, those introduced here – The Wraith Queen, The Stable Master, Naht'kah and Nahk'tesh – were minor characters that, despite having a huge impact on Lucky, really didn't need an introduction in this way. It added nothing to the story whatsoever.

There was a heck of a lot of recapping in the first 50% that wasn't strictly necessary. A lot of the big battle at the end of book 1 was recounted in both memory and dialogue, word for word and in vivid detail. Maybe the problem was that I came straight into this book having read book 1, but either way, it felt like overkill.

Also, I find a huge plot gap in the fact that Lucky spent most of book 1 and half of book 2 never once utilising his “wish” talent in a way that would have been helpful. There was no explanation given as to why he never used it, except that it became this forgotten/ignored gift that could have seriously helped or saved lives in many situations, but was never used.

There were a few formatting issues – but this is an ARC, so I didn't let that have any weight in my rating – with varying font and font size throughout, which made it a little hard to read and required some adjustment. (This was especially tiring during night reading)

Quite honestly, the whole kilt thing really got under my skin. Now, I'm Scottish, so the kilt is part of our history and tradition. However, the way it was represented was so misleading and infuriating. For 1; there is no way to confuse a kilt with leggings (which Lucky does), 2; a kilt is NOT worn under anything, as described in the story, 3; I have no idea WHAT Lucky was trying to imply here -
“Under that he wore a layer made of soft, thick cloth, but on second thought those didn't seem like leggings so much because they went all the way up under his...” His what? A kilt is – for lack of a better word and using the term used in the book – a skirt. So, it goes UP where? What could he possibly have been trying to say, because going UP where it's implied would NOT be a kilt.

Similarly, I hated the very stereotypical Scottish accent slotted in for one line that felt like one of those token Scottish characters, as though they were needed to justify the use of the kilts. I think it might have been more forgivable had he been wearing some kind of 'skirt-like' outfit, that was not specifically called a kilt, something that had the nature of what the author was trying to reference in the notes above, but without limiting it to a real, specific piece of traditional wear.

I also found it curious that Lucky remarked this - “he'd wondered a few times how he'd look in a skirt, but he'd never really felt driven to try it.” Really? So...Lucky has some tendencies we don't know about, does he? Or is this an attempt to reassert the fact that he's gay? Because, if so, that really doesn't work for me. It felt like an odd, completely unnecessary statement, unless he's going to end up expanding on that thought with real skirt-wearing or cross-dressing action later. Besides – and this is SO important – a kilt is NOT a skirt. Let me repeat that – a kilt is NOT a skirt. EVER.

One of the many questions that was left unanswered for me, in fact, was why everyone was acting so strange. If it was because of their worry about the bad stuff going on in other parts of the country, then why take it out on Lucky? Besides, no one ever apologised to Lucky, bar Han, who at least explained himself and had a decent reason to be mad. And why does Thurlock and everyone else expect him to be the perfect Suth Chiel, when no one has given him an ounce of warning of training on the subject until at least halfway through?

There was also an issue with really ridiculous conversations that almost turned Lucky into a whining baby – particularly in the cave, at the start, and when Thurlock is helping him navigate a baby blessing.

There was a disproportionate method of storytelling. In book 1, the multi-POV meant that we got a few little stories here and there, that all wove together into one big one. Here, it's sort of the same, but a lot of the little stories – Thurlock and Henry's in particular – had about one chapter worth of time, before being ignored again for 20% of the book and never mentioned once within that time. It got increasingly frustrating to read their very small POV chapters or scenes only to then never find out what else had happened to them, because their story had become background filler that we never got to see.

The ending. Again, it was really abrupt, right in the middle of a scene. Not to mention that the story left me with even more questions than it answered, which is slightly infuriating.

~

Positives? The story picks right up from where the previous book left off.

I do, however, have a disagreement with the blurb. It states “Hurt, confused, and left to his own devices, Lucky makes unfortunate choices that put him and his friends, L’Aria and Zhevi, in dire peril.” I would have to disagree with the whole “unfortunately choices” thing. Because, to me, Lucky is reacting to a situation that makes him feel unhappy, unappreciated and unwanted, because that's how people have made him feel. His choices are a direct reflection of how he's been made to feel, so they're not unfortunate, they're perfectly justifiable in his mind. And, really, part of his destiny, so they were going to happen one way or the other, all along.

No one can blame Lucky for feeling isolated and wanting to escape. To him, he gave up a crap, but familiar life, with people he knew and understood, for a crap, unfamiliar life full of strangers and rules. The people he has learned to trust and love have begun turning against him or abandoning him entirely – again.

They treat Lucky like he's an idiot. He's 15 and doesn't need to be protected from the dangers of the world – especially after having proven himself capable in book 1 – but I find it particularly telling and saddening when, in the first half, Thurlock does something to Lucky that means he doesn't notice the army preparing to leave. It's a gross violation of the trust and their friendship that they'd worked so hard on building, to use magic to protect him from something he doesn't need protected from, but at the same time, could have seriously prevented his chance to say goodbye to Han, before his journey. Yet, no one says anything about it and Lucky is left to feel like a child.

In a similar vein, I hated the way Lucky was treated for the first half of the story – again, without explanation! – especially when Thurlock said he had “a case of the jitters”. I'm pretty sure that what Lucky has is much more than just 'jitters'. I'd say it's much closer to shock or PTSD, after the events of the first book, being kidnapped and torture. It felt so (again with no excuse or explanation given) dismissive of all the characters to just let him flounder for the first half, believing he was unwanted and in the way. This is the part that – though I hated how he was treated – brought me much closer, emotionally, to Lucky. I hadn't felt a connection with him before, not really at all during book 1, but this is where I really understood him and knew that it wasn't just teenage angst, but a real deep seated feeling of abandonment. After finding this perfect family, they just deserted him.

You might notice that rant above ^ and wonder why it's under the positives? Well, it takes a lot to make me feel this strongly for a character, especially when I wasn't so sure about Lucky after the first book. Yes, it's ranty, but that's how strongly I feel about it.

And can I just say how much I loved the whole love triangle? Or rather, square. I absolutely fell in love with Rio and I hope that he's got a huge part in book 3 – right alongside Lucky. ;) And I wouldn't mind seeing his brothers and dad again. The whole Stable Master world and aspect was enjoyable and very much welcome back again.

~

Overall, for me, this story was so much more captivating than the previous one. Perhaps because a lot of time had to be spent on getting to know the characters and introducing Lucky to a world he didn't understand, in book 1. Either way, this one was much more cohesive and emotionally grasping. The world building was more concise, with great attention to detail and characterisation.

My problems were focused on the plot format – the disproportionate storytelling of the various POV's, the fact that important events were ignored for up to and over 20% of the story, leaving us in the dark; the fact that I'm left with more questions than answers and the stereotypical nature of the Scottish aspects.

Unanswered questions I hope will be addressed in book 3 -

Who killed Lohen and Han's parents?
Why did Thurlock keep Lucky at a distance?
What's going on with the children?
How did Henry do what he did?
Where did Thurlock end up and how did he get out?
How in Behl's name did Lohen appear to Lucky after he'd crossed over?
Will Lucky ever learn to properly utilise his “wish” talent in a way that makes sense?

~

Favourite Quotes

“Han crossed his muscular brown arms over his chest. Deadly calm and quiet, he said, “Not everything is about you, Luccan.”
He might as well have punched Lucky in the gut.”

.

“Since when did Han talk to him that way? His sarcasm had a cruel flavor that Lucky had never heard from him, and never would have imagined.
[…]
Though he knew the danger, he let something like threat seep into his own voice. “You're right, Uncle. I'll definitely be all right. I don't need you to tell me that.” Pivoting o his heel and stepping away, he raised his voice and added, “Or for anything else.”
He immediately wished he hadn't set those last words loose, but he couldn't take them back. If his heart felt shredded, so be it. I'll wager I don't need that anymore either.”

.

“I know what makes him happy, sad, laugh. I know what scares him too. It's like he poured his whole self into my brain and my heart, and it fits perfectly. And he knows me like that too.”

~