Hi everyone! I am so excited to be back and taking part in another Write Reads Blog Tour! Some of y’all may remember that I read Magic Unleashed (Venators #1) and loved (see my review here), so I couldn’t wait to jump back into this world with Promises Forged. I will warn you, you do need to read book one prior to jumping into book two since this sequel picks up right where we left off.
Promises Forged (Venators #2)
Author: Devri Walls
Publication Date: 30 April 2019
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy/Paranormal
Pages: 428
Publisher: Brown Books
It has been mere days in the world of Eon, where Rune Jenkins, her twin brother Ryker, and their friend Grey have been trapped, fighting for their lives. After discovering the truth of their ancestry, the three are far from home, and far from anything resembling their mundane lives of the past.
While Ryker is still held captive by the eerily beautiful Zio and her goblins, Grey falls into the clutches of Feena, the Fae queen. She begins to drain his soul bit by bit to feed her dark underground garden, and Grey has no hope of escaping on his own.
It is now up to Rune to save Grey, as his precious time slips away inexorably. But the Council has denied her permission to embark on a rescue mission, until she can harness her Venator gifts and prove herself capable of venturing into the Fae queen’s territory. As Rune discovers that promises in Eon are forged with life-or-death consequences, she realizes that she must act quickly, or else be swallowed and Grey along with her by the dangers of Eon.
While I really enjoyed Magic Unleashed, Promises Forged was the story I was waiting for.
We are immediately thrown back into the chaos of Eon. Now that the our favorites Grey and Rune survived the dragon attack that was orchestrated by the sorceress Zio, everything should be smooth sailing, right? Ha. Wrong. Grey has managed to find himself in trouble that lands him in the Fae Queen Feena’s dangerous court. The politics and rules here are unlike anything he’s ever dealt with, and the magic the fae wields is horrifying (the soul sucking kind). Now, Rune, Tate, Verida, and Tashara are on a mission to save Grey from the court all while keeping their heads.
Now, y’all are probably wondering what happened to Ryker, Rune’s twin. Well, he managed to get captured by Zio and is now prisoner. I’ll be honest, neither Zio or Ryker are characters that I am particularly interested in this story since neither one really has any redeeming qualities. We know Zio is an evil sorceress. And Ryker is a bully. Sure, we learn the reasons for why he treated Grey the way he did, but he’s still a bully, so….yeah.
The character development in this one was amazing. I loved that we got to see Rune develop from a whiny, I don’t have any feelings character to accepting her flaws and stepping up to the plate. Additionally, we learn why there’s so much animosity between Ryker and Grey, and it will make you love Grey even more. He’s always been the stand up lovable guy, and that just never changes. I also commend the author for always hinting at a possible romance but not committing to it. There’s so much going on in this story which forces both characters to deviate the attention, and the last thing I am looking for in unncessary swooning.
Now, y’all knew Beltran was going to be just as morally grey and shifty as he was before. I swear, this shapeshifter instantly lights up a scene and forces you to reassess everything that you just read because there is undoubtedly hidden meanings in everything that he says. His snark and sass is still top notch, and I will continue to go at bat for Beltran.
I felt that this time the plot was much more propulsive and constant. The scenario just also felt more dire as we knew that time was running out for Grey.
Overall, don’t sleep on this series. This series is jam packed with action, magic, adventure, and characters that you can’t help but love and hate.
Thank you to Dave from The Write Reads for the blog tour invite as well as providing a review copy.
The Reading Chemist 