Genre: Fantasy

Age: YA

Format: Paperback

This Wicked Fate continues the story from This Poison Heart, as Briseis forges ahead in trying to complete the Absyrtus Heart and reclaim her mother’s life. She’s joined by a few others in her quest, including her aunt, Circe. This book continues the ideas and themes from the first, but here we have the added layer of grief as Bri deals with her mother’s death.

I really enjoyed this book, maybe not quite as much as I adored This Poison Heart – This Wicked Fate feels like it steps away a bit from the Gothic elements in the first book, focusing instead more on Greek mythology for inspiration, with a mythological journey at its heart as Bri searches for a way to bring her mother back. It still had me totally hooked throughout, and Bayron’s writing fully fleshes out the characters and the world they inhabit.

There are a lot of characters, both old and new, but each one steps fully formed onto the page, with Bayron guiding you along and giving us some really interesting elements to chew on. Maybe because I’m not the YA target audience, but one minor thing that did frustrate me was the repetitiveness when the characters come across someone who has come from Greek mythology, with Bri constantly in the dark about who they are and having it explained by another character, and Bri then comparing them to their representations in either the Disney film Hercules or the musical Hadestown. It got to the point where I wished Bri would pick up a book or look online and just fill in some of the gaps herself, even if she just did a cursory glance.

That aside – there was more I loved about this book than disliked. I love that Bri works through her feelings, especially towards her aunt, and it’s not an instant “oh yay we’re family” moment, but something that comes along with careful consideration. Similarly, the characters are respectful towards each other’s feelings – yes, they’re not always completely honest, but you can really feel how they deeply care for one another. I loved the relationship between Bri and Marie, and the way this grows, and I think the way Bri and her mother Mo dealt with grief in such different ways was realistic and honest.

The ‘adventure’ part really increased the tension, too, and added another wonderful layer to this already rich book. I really could go on, but if you haven’t already, I highly recommend checking out both This Poison Heart and This Wicked Fate, along with Bayron’s other fantasy novel, Cinderella is Dead. They’re all completely solid, excellent books, and Bayron consistently proves herself to be an excellent writer.

This Poison Heart Review / Cinderella is Dead Review

Amazon UK

Bookshop UK

Review by Elle Turpitt

Twitter: @elleturpitt

www.elleturpittediting.com

I purchased this book.