Book Review: WARDENS OF ARCHOS Blog Tour

Hello. I hope everyone is having a Terrific Tuesday! Today is Day 2 of Sarina Langer's blog tour. I'm happy to share my review of her second novel with you.

Once a despised street rat, now the reigning queen of Rifarne, Rachael is at the centre of everyone’s attention. All she wants is a few peaceful moments to herself—

but her kingdom has other plans.

The Tramuran ambassador unnerves her.

The Krymistian lady is hiding something.

A Mist Woman brings her a gift, and a warning: Aeron’s death has released the Dark One’s shades into the world. And Rachael, as the only living seer in existence, is the only one who can stop him before he destroys everything she’s beginning to cherish. But can Rachael trust the Mist Woman, or is Kaida just another sorceress playing with her life?

There’s a chance that answers are hidden beneath the ancient Krymistian ruins of Archos.

If only she could be sure that her nightmares of Cephy are just that, and not something darker…

Rachael is running out of time. The shadows are coming, and their claws are reaching for her.

Wardens of Archos is book two in of the Relics of Ar'Zac trilogy. You can read my review of book one: Rise of The Sparrows.

Similar to my feelings while reading the first book, Wardens Of Archos started out slow for me. It picked up right where Rise Of The Sparrows left off, and while I understand the need to catch readers up again, I felt adding in so much of the previous book made the opening drag.

Angst is created with the tension between Cale and Rachael. The events at the end of the first book left them changed in ways neither were ready to deal with nor could they understand. Cale having to adjust to losing so much in the battle and Rachael having to adjust to being a queen. I spent a lot of time asking why they wouldn't simply talk it out, say something. They both had plenty of inner thoughts about how they missed each other, yet neither would open their mouths. Frustrating to say the least, but I had to remember they were teenagers dealing with a lot of pressures coming from all sides.

I do enjoy reading about strong girls/women and Sarina delivered in that aspect. Kiana, Rachael's friend and bodyguard, was a wonderful addition. We met her briefly in Rise Of The Sparrows, but I was happy to see her featured more in this book.

Kiana was a fierce warrior and loyal friend to Rachael. I am very nervous to see what happens since things were left unanswered where she is concerned.

Another character whose poise and strength I enjoyed was Lady Nerine.

She was a strong woman and fed into the saying that behind every great man is a great woman.

The tone of this book was different from what I expected. I went into it thinking we'd see Rachael as she learned to be a ruler, and the focus would be more on that aspect. Instead, Sarina spent more time exploring the cities around them and building up the world she created. The imagery and detail was brought to life during the trips the group needed to make in search of the relics.

I do feel like some of the mystery and intrigue could have been amped up if not for so many POVs. At times, hearing from some of the characters was another thing that bogged the story down for me. Another of the issues that bothered me in Rise Of The Sparrows was the repeat of information already told to us. We get this again in Wardens Of Archos.

Sarina writes a great battle scene and we are gifted with a few in this book. While I had my suspicions about a certain mythical creature making an appearance in this book, I was surprised (in a good way) at how it came about.

In the end, you are left with more questions that need to be answered. The fate of many are still undecided which leaves you waiting for the final book to come.

"Sarina is obsessed with books and all things stationery, has a proud collection of over twenty notebooks, and squees every time she buys a new notebook, pens (hmmm, fountain pens <3 ) or highlighters.