E.J. J Doble's Reviews > Truthmarked

3.5/5 ⭐

I'm in two minds about this book - the sequel to a book that both engrossed and infuriated me with great action sequences and unimpressive character development. I made a pledge that, if I didn't enjoy this book, then I wouldn't persevere with the rest of the series.

And, as I finish the book, that is sadly the case.

It improves on a number of areas that I struggled with in the first book: the characterisation is excellent for the established characters; the overarching storyline and themes are really really investing; the different regions and clearly defined, and I loved the scenes with the Dead Isles. Grey Arris, Rhea and Annise were standout characters, the Sandes' storyline was great too.

But that's where the praise stops for me, and I start to encounter some issues.
We are introduced to two new main characters - Raven Sandes and Jai Jiroux - one of whom is an heiress, and the other is a benevolent slavemaster. Raven is a complex, dutiful character and worries for her sisters and has reservations about the warmongering they have planned. And Jai, is... a benevolent slavemaster, and you should like him and relate to him because he wants to free his slaves, but that is where the character development completely stops with him - the exact same issue that I had with characters in book 1. I didn't care for his character - but saying that, I struggled to care for the majority of the characters as I read, and I think that's largely down to my frustration with the writing style.
And then there was Sir Metz, introduced in a single chapter about halfway in, and had Estes just made him say "I'M AUTISTIC BY THE WAY" it would have been less cringe than the interactions in that chapter. It was a trait-bomb of stereotypical autistic characteristics in a person, that felt completely shoehorned in, and as with Jai Jiroux that was the defining quality of his character and nothing else.

I was frustrated with the book: both for loving sections of it and acknowledging how much of an improvement it was on the first book for me, while also wanting to claw my eyes out for how the book disengaged me so frequently.

I would of course tell people to try the series for themselves, as I know these books do have a lot of love in the community, but I find myself unable to continue with it and so won't be reading on.