scijessreads

There is something ethereal, cozy, and human at the core of the fantasy worlds created by Allison Carr Waechter. The words seep into your soul and make you feel as if you are there, an observer to a world that is very much not your own, but feels as if it could be. I will always shout praises for her beautiful, emotional, fierce, and layered heroines and fantasy worlds.

The Aethereals duology just finished, with The Ravaged Dark, and I am both so happy to have read it, and so sad that it is over. Much like The Immortal Orders (which this duology is loosely tied to), I fell in love with the worlds and the characters.

Book 1, The Hollow Plane, I have written about before. Book 2 picks up right where we left off. Mina and Ash have regained their memories, and it is not a joyous occasion. There are centuries of hurt to fight through, even though there is also a deep well of love. But Ash has to earn back that love – and Mina’s trust – by reconciling all that he is now with all that he was in the past.

Our band of friends still has to solve the mystery of who – or what – is besieging Sirin. And at the same time, they have to come to terms with shifting relationships. The friendship between Mina and Poe (and Ash and Skye) is beautiful. It is a friendship as deep as love. Even more beautiful is the slow realization that Mina has that she is capable of more, worthy of more, and belongs on Sirin just as much as she belongs with Ash.

Yes, there is elemental power, portals between worlds, and Sirin to save. But within this book, even more so than the first, is a story of family. Both the family you are born into and the one you choose. And how sometimes it is the family you choose (and that chooses you) that is the most important. That holds the greatest love and support. That sees you for all that you are and says that it is enough.

I highly recommend these books, and the previous series. They are some of my absolute favorite fantasy books. I do have to disclose that I am a member of the author’s ARC team, but I read all of The Immortal Orders before becoming so, and already loved those books. And if you have read this blog for any length of time, you can probably tell when I love a book rather than just like it (or, in some rare cases, really don’t care for it at all). But, I do feel like I need to make all necessary disclosures.