The Perilous Sea
Author: Sherry Thomas
Release: September 16th 2014
Genre: Fantasy, Magic, YA
#2 in the Elementals trilogy
Series: The Burning Sky (#1), The Immortal Heights (#3)
Plot:
After spending the summer away from each other, Titus and Iolanthe (still disguised as Archer Fairfax) are eager to return to Eton College to resume their training to fight the Bane. Although no longer bound to Titus by a blood oath, Iolanthe is more committed than ever to fulfilling her destiny—especially with the agents of Atlantis quickly closing in.
Soon after arriving at school, though, Titus makes a shocking discovery, one that makes him question everything he previously believed about their mission. Faced with this devastating realization, Iolanthe is forced to come to terms with her new role, while Titus must choose between following his mother's prophecies—and forging a divergent path to an unknowable future.
Review:
Damn. What an explosive final pages. This is how I like my books.
I'll admit, I don't remember all too much about The Burning Sky. At least, concerning the details, and I did not take the time to re-read it before starting this one. However, even so, I was able to get fully immersed and I think that's what a good sequel should do: Give you a short recollection of all that you need to know for this new book and then grip you even harder than its predecessor.
Because one thing that was unfortunate about the first book was that I was unable to really connect to the story, the characters and the overall plot. I loved all of it and relished it, but there was still a distance between us that I couldn't bridge and it was that, ultimately, that kept the book from being great. That wasn't a problem for this sequel, luckily, and as I'd hoped I can now safely say that this is an amazing series and can I have the third book, like, right now? Please with a cherry on top.
I was sucked into the story right from page 1 even without remembering too much, and while I'll admit that the story dragged for about 50 pages during the middle, it never got too boring or anything. This second book is essentially told in two parts that always alternated with every chapter. One point of view is set seven weeks earlier and one is set in the present, but both of them, as the reader discovers early on, are about Iolanthe and Titus, naturally. Usually, I dislike this form of story telling, since it can really disrupt the flow of the story, because you always have to re-focus on another plotline time and again, but honestly, Thomas manages to time the switches perfectly and somehow connects them so effortlessly the transitions weren't annoying at all. Additionally, she also makes use of my favorite type of stories, the ones where she places tiny little details all around the book, small clues that, at the time of reading, you think will be insignificant but are later revealed to be key points in figuring something out. Furthermore, her plot twists are real sucker punches that you do not see coming but that are planted so cleverly, seriously, I am fucking in love with it. So well done. SO. WELL. DONE.
The characters were also really nice, my fondness of them carried into this sequel, and it only grew even more in this installment. Iolanthe and Titus are interesting and nice characters to read about, while they do have their flaws (in that they don'treally have a lot of flaws), I can't help but like them. Not even sorry. They're just such a charismatic pair, which is why I can't even grudge them their sometimes kind of cheesy romance. Speaking of, can I just mention in passing that I ship them so hard? Ugh, I love them. They fit together and complement each other so well.
Like I said, I really ended up loving this sequel and I am now eagerly awaiting the third and final book. The final 100 pages had me all jittery and on edge, it was such a thrill ride to just rush through all those revelations, all the action and all, it was fantastic. Loved it. Gimme the next book.
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