Review: A Poison Dark and Drowning (Kingdom on Fire #2) by Jessica Cluess
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Series: Kingdom on Fire #2
Author: Jessica Cluess
Published September 19th 2017 by Random House Books for Young Readers
Goodreads Synopsis
The magicians want her to lead. The sorcerers want her to lie. The demons want her blood. Henrietta wants to save the one she loves. But will his dark magic be her undoing?
Henrietta doesn’t need a prophecy to know that she’s in danger. She came to London to be named the chosen one, the first female sorcerer in centuries, the one who would defeat the bloodthirsty Ancients. Instead, she discovered a city ruled by secrets. And the biggest secret of all: Henrietta is not the chosen one.
Still, she must play the role in order to keep herself and Rook, her best friend and childhood love, safe. But can she truly save him? The poison in Rook’s system is transforming him into something monstrous as he begins to master dark powers of his own.
So when Henrietta finds a clue to the Ancients’ past that could turn the tide of the war, she persuades Blackwood, the mysterious Earl of Sorrow-Fell, to travel up the coast to seek out strange new weapons. And Magnus, the brave, reckless flirt who wants to win back her favor, is assigned to their mission. Together, they will face monsters, meet powerful new allies, and uncover the most devastating weapon of all: the truth.
Goodreads
Review
I originally read this book way back in 2017, but life sort of got in the way, and I never got around to reviewing it, so decided to give it a re-read to jog my memory. A Poison Dark and Drowning follows the events of book 1, where Henrietta Howel has defeated one of the dreaded Ancients, and has been proclaimed as a sorcerer, and their Chosen One. She, and her friends, know the truth about her heritage; that Henrietta is actually a magician, not a sorcerer, and using the ban magic is the only way she had any success the last time around. She also isn't the chosen one, but that is one of the only reasons why she was allowed to join the Sorcerer's. After she and her fellow sorcerer's, Magnus and Blackwood, discover some weapons that may be able to harm the Ancients, as well as a witch, Maria, who will be instrumental to their success, it seems as if they might just have the upper hand. But secrets are revealed about the reason why the Ancients are back, and Rook is falling more and more ill, so will Henrietta be able to keep it together to cause a fatal blow?
It took some getting back into this book following the gap from when I read book 1, but as soon as I had, I was engaged until the final page. Henrietta has just come so far from when we first met her in the Yorkshire Dales, and I can see that growth continuing into the final book! Embraced by the sorcerer's, especially those who she trained with at Agrippa's home, she knows that she still has something to prove, and I felt like she did that here. She knows that her magician blood is seen by others as a hindrance, but it's really helpful to the cause, especially once they find magician tools or weapons that they need to master in order to have a fighting chance against the Ancient. Henrietta spending more time with the magician's allows her to learn more about her family, and just why R'hlem is so invested in capturing her, to the extent that he'll have his familiars daub her name in blood everywhere they go. The addition of Maria really added to the story too, as a friend for Henrietta, but also as someone who knows her struggles, and has her own story to tell - I can see her playing a big role in A Sorrow Fierce and Falling.
Now, the romance in this series has always sort of divided fans. Back in A Shadow Bright and Burning, there was neigh on a love square, with Henrietta having potential love interests thrown from all angles, and there was only really one of them I liked. I never saw the appeal or chemistry between Rook and Henrietta, even though it was portrayed as being something that could transcend Rook being Unclean. There was hardly any interaction in this book, and the chemistry was forced. Another potential interest is Magnus, who sort of shot himself in the foot in Shadow, and though he seemed to really care for Henrietta, I never saw it going further than friendship. My favourite pairing is between Henrietta and Blackwood, who puts of a sort of Mr Darcy vibe. It was clear as day that he had feelings for Henrietta, and he was the only one who she could really be herself with, and talk through difficult things.
The climax of this book was outstanding, and it's made me so happy that I have a copy ofA Sorrow Fierce and Falling to read because I need to see how all those events play out, and what consequences they have!
Dates Read:
June 7-10, 2017
Rating
4 Stars
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