A Fire Endless

In this conclusion of the tales of Cadence, the reader finally crosses the clan line into the Western part of the island. Alone by her own choice, Adaira must find her footing in her new home and try to form a relationship with her estranged parents. Meanwhile back in the East, Torin, the new laird, struggles to take up the mantle that feels unsuited to him. Almost immediately after Adaira leaves, he discovers a blight that is decimating the fruit trees. It's a horrifying discovery that this disease can pass to the human residents of the land as well.

Torin calls upon Jack to sing for the spirits again to determine the source of the blight, but Bane, the North Wind, violently opposes them. Jack receives word from a Fire Spirit that he show more must seek the solution in the West. The Fire speaks of rebellion and dethroning Bane, but they need Jack's help.

This book was a bit of a lackluster conclusion for me. The narrative drags and is extremely predictable. At no point was I worried about any of the characters achieving their goals. It was always clear that they would succeed and so the obstacles felt like a tedious delay rather than a real challenge. Even the sex scenes were joyless and perfunctory. There are 3-4 of them and they never failed to make me roll my eyes.

One of the biggest problems this book has is the nature of the Breccan civilization. I remember in the first book thinking that we were only getting one half of the story from the Tamerlaines. I thought when Adaira went West, we would learn about the many crimes of the Tamerlaines and that the Breccans were basically good people that were just impoverished. But no, we quickly learn that the Breccans are a nest of vipers whose only sport is watching criminals fight to the death in the arena. All the ruling families are constantly poisoning each other and even the regular farmers are murdering each other for resources.

The book presents Innes, the Western laird, as a cold and calculating woman whose wit and ruthlessness have resulted in her domination of the government. But that's not true. Innes is a terrible laird whose own son had been leading illegal raids and kidnapping children in the last book. I thought that in this one we would see Innes cleaning house. Having discovered a threat to her power right under her nose, I assumed she would root out her son's compatriots and all others who had chosen to follow him and break her laws. But no. She just assumes that since her son is in jail now no one will be loyal to him anymore. Obviously, this leads to multiple assassination attempts by her son's best friend, including a plot to overthrow Innes herself. She is literally only saved by the extremely basic precautions taken by the Tamerlaines.

You would think in a land prone to poisonings but also a place where enchantments are extremely easy to make, they would have figured out a way to detect if something was poisoned? Or even just decide to use cupbearers? Absolutely embarrassing that the laird's own daughter was poisoned to death in front of her and she took no action at all beyond revenge. Jack's father, a somewhat minor guard had a knife of truth telling, but the laird herself, when yet another poisoning occurs is reduced to looking at her thanes and saying, "Who did this?" Why doesn't everyone have a truth blade? Why doesn't everyone have poison detecting goblets? Literally Jack's truth knife is taken away from him as soon as he crosses the clan line and I thought that would be significant to the plot but it wasn't. It was just so he wouldn't be able to use it when someone tries to poison him. Although, it's not clear why that would be any less satisfying than what actually happens which is that the kitchen staff just says who told them to add poison to the food. And Innes just believes them.

That's because there is no law and order in the Breccan lands. Anyone can be picked up off the streets for no reason and jailed. And even though he has no official position, Rab, Murray's best friend, is in charge of investigating the crimes. In fact, he seems to be the only person who ever brings anyone to the prison which is currently overflowing. And all it takes is him showing up with someone and saying, "this is a murderer" and that ends the investigation.

The Breccans' system of dealing with criminals is to jail people until the prisons are full and then hold a "culling" which is when they fight the criminals against each other like dogs as entertainment. The winner of each match is considered to have regained their honor because "the blade has spoken for them". The book positions this as a brutal practice but essentially necessary. And it really does explain a lot about the Breccan culture. It's why they are all murdering each other and rebelling against their laird and stealing constantly. It explains why Murray and Rab act without fear. Afterall, if they are caught for anything, all they have to do is win a one-on-one fight and they will be released. Imagine a system of justice is which a murderer is found innocent if they murder a second person. Absolutely the dumbest thing I've ever heard. But Innes is like, "oh well, it's better than locking someone in jail for 10 years." And she has the audacity to say that her son can at least, "die with honor." Uh, no he won't. He doesn't deserve honor and dying by the sword won't give it to him. Nevermind the fact that you are forcing other people to act as the justice of the state by executing the guilty. Jack's father, for instance spends almost the entire book in the pits killing people (innocent or not, who knows) and the book asks us to pretend that he's fine now that he's out of prison.

The book never returns to this either. Did they stop doing the culling? Have they actually developed even a rudimentary system of due process? Are there now actual consequences for people or no? And what about the Breccans as an aggregate? What happens to a culture that reveres blood sport? How long does it take for them to stop valuing life cheaply? The author is obviously not concerned with these questions.

I had a bunch of other complaints, mostly about unimaginative character development. Like the husband of the Western laird is also a healer. And he also has the blight, just like Sidra. He's also not much of a character, more of a prop to move the story along. Also the "riddle" that Torin needs to solve is so annoying. It was just such a tedious plot device that had him wandering in the spirit realm for days on end just watching the plot unfold and hoping that someone in the real world will tell him how to cure the blight. Which is exactly what happens in the least satisfying way possible. Likewise, Jack's final song to dethrone the North Wind is super anticlimactic. He just decides that's what he needs to do and he does it. So easy! Why hadn't anyone done it before? I could go on and on, because the book is just full of this type of thing. Anyway, I felt like all the life was sucked out of this book and was quite disappointed in the ending. show less

This book has what is usually one of my least favorite tropes of all time: the separation trope (*dun, dun, dunnnn*) Then again, who am I to question Rebecca Ross?

A fool, apparently. Because this author managed to take a trope I hate and make something I love. That's talent right there. And I am not complaining.

Beautiful conclusion. 12/10 would recommend.

How do you feel about cozy fantasy? It’s been all the rage as a subgenre lately, are you a fan? Do you want more, or do you feel the market is oversaturated? I enjoy it, but I definitely have to be in the right mood for it, and I don’t think all cozy fantasy is created equal.

So what about The Elements of Cadence? This duology is all about balance and harmony, and the struggle to restore what’s been broken. A Fire Endless is the second book, and I think it’s even better than the first.

When we return to Jack and Adaira, they’ve been separated. Adaira in the West, Jack in the East, both feeling like they’re on uneven ground and missing each other desperately. Beyond their own issues is an even greater one, as a mysterious show more illness has begun to plague those living on both sides of the island. The capricious spirits that reside on the isle are involved somehow, but are they the ones responsible, or are they prisoners themselves?

This is wonderfully written folklore fantasy. It’s sweet and aching, and if you’re looking for something romantasy-lite without a ton of spiciness, but with sweetness and some Scottish inspired settings, then this is it. It’s super cozy with a very atmospheric setting and I think anyone who’s been a fan of the author’s Divine Rival series is really going to like this. Personally I actually enjoyed it a bit more than Divine Rivals, although I may be the minority there.

Politics, magic, music and love, it’s all here. show less

I adored the first book and I loved the second book just as much. The Juliet Marillier vibes continued. A satisfying end with great characters and some heart stopping moments. Ms Ross has other books and I have mixed feelings on trying them as they seem different in style and I don't want to be disappointed!

Adventurous, redemptive, satisfying conclusion to the story started in A River Enchanted. Beautiful setting in what seems like a magical Scotland, and the magic/spirits were a great part of the plot. I really enjoyed this duology.

A Fire Endless is the sequel to A River Enchanted which introduced us to a myriad of wonderful characters. The sequel focuses more on the story of Turin and Sidra which I really enjoyed. But the story of Jack and Adaira is what I came for. There was much about Adaira and that was great. I liked seeing her grow and learning about her family and the Breccans in the West. In this sequel I felt Jack’s character was secondary and I wanted to see more growth from him. This is still a really good book, though. I listened to A River Enchanted on audio and I can’t wait until this one is released on audio, also.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. #AFireEndless #NetGalley

I didn't think that this book was needed initially, but after finishing it, I can see how it served to conclude the story in a satisfying way.