Despite what everyone thought, Elle did get married after all, and with the handsome Lord Greychester. It doesn't make her a tamed wife though, and she's still very much determined to take flight again. Her passion will get her into trouble with her husband though, and the price might very well be both of their lives. Is it a price she is willing to pay to persue her dreams?
I wasn't completely pleased with the first book in the series, A Conspiracy of Alchemist, and I am afraid to say I still feel the same about this second installment. It definitely has it's good points, and some strong basis, but there are some small elements bothering me and I can't quite seem to overlook them and simply enjoy the ride.
The first thing I liked is that even though Spark and Clockwork is still very much present in this novel, it wasn't as overbearing as it was in the first novel. I also liked the general plot line and where it's going, but there are some flaws I need to point out.
First, there is a strong cut between two parts of the novel, so much so that the first part seems to be very accessory and serve the only purpose of having Elle away from her husband for him to get himself kidnap. See, the first part of the novel is about both characters trying to adapt being together, Elle wanting to persue her passion for flying, him wanting her to stay home. She leaves for business, wins a ship over a game of cards, comes back, then leaves again to fix said ship and that's when her husband vanishes and the plot really starts. The whole thing felt like 'filling' to me and the whole winning the ship thing felt totally unnecessary. The author made a big deal out of the guy she won it from, and the only thing we see from him is at the end for a simple line. I just didn't get it.
Another thing I didn't like was how the Consortium was brought in without much explanation, or did we learn about them in the previous book and I simply forgot? The whole business of their hiring La Dame Blanche was kind of shady, and I was really curious about her plans (and obsession) with Marsh. And yet, we never got to find out what they were, which I found rather frustrating.
I liked Elle's determination to save Hugh and I commend her for giving it her all. I thought she was being very naive at times and I wished she didn't banish (or had at least re-called) the voices of the past oracles because it would've saved her a lot of trouble. It was nice to see Loisa again, even though I thought she came off as somewhat weak for a vampire.
There is a completely new and unexpected brand of zombies in this novel and it's one of the highlight of this novel. Schwarz brought to the table a very interesting concept and I have to give her kudos for that.
The conclusion, just like for the first book, felt rushed and it left me breathless, but not in a good way. There is a lot happening at same time, in too little time, with people getting out of nowhere. It just didn't seem plausible at all. Emotionally though, I was really heart-broken by the way things ended, and hopefully the characters will get their Happily Ever After in the next installment. I'm afraid to say though that I haven't decided yet if I will read the final book in the trilogy.
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