Public Enemies by Ann Aguirre Series: Immortal Game #2
Published on August 4, 2015
Pages: 372
Format: ARC
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In Book 2 of the Immortal Game trilogy, Edie must learn the rules of the game . . . and then play better than anyone else.
Through a Faustian bargain, Edie Kramer has been pulled into the dangerous world of the Immortal Game, where belief makes your nightmares real. Hungry for sport, fears-made-flesh are always raising the stakes. To them, human lives are less than nothing, just pieces on a board.
Because of her boyfriend Kian's sacrifice, she's operating under the mysterious Harbinger's aegis, but his patronage could prove as fatal as the opposition. Raw from deepest loss, she's terrified over the deal Kian made for her. Though her very public enemies keep sending foot soldiers--mercenary monsters committed to her destruction--she's not the one playing under a doom clock. Kian has six months...unless Edie can save him. And this is a game she can't bear to lose.
This review is going to be missing quotes, because I got wrapped up enough in the story that I forgot to mark the ones I liked! This review will also be very different from Mortal Danger (the first book in the series) because it is much darker, and so much more is happening! So I am going to do my best to review this without getting into too much detail. I feel this book is better that way.
Edie becomes a force to be reckoned with in this installment. But she had no choice. She neither wants to give in or give up, so she has to fight immortals, Gods, demons… all sorts of things. After the losses she experienced in the previous book, she is out for revenge (again, just for different reasons this time) and is desperate to protect the ones she loves. The relationship with Kian has changed completely, in both good and bad ways. Speaking of their relationship, I will say things got pretty steamy between them, more than I am used to from a YA novel, that’s for sure. So that was interesting. Her friends from the previous book are still loyal, no one is evil or anything -yet- and some of them even know whats going on now, and as crazy as it is, haven’t run away. She also ended up with some VERY unexpected allies, which was interesting and funny. Buzzkill has a great sense of humor! (I just realized that sounds like an oxymoron, but seriously, he is hilarious!)
Everything about this book is darker and bloodier. At one point I even looked twice at the shadows in my bedroom after I got done reading at night. I love when things get that creepy! I was constantly on the verge of my seat, waiting for the next crazy thing to happen. I loved using my imagination to conjure up the images described, and I wanted to post some pics, but I couldn’t find any that did the book justice or fit the image I had created in my head.
But my favorite thing about this book is The Harbinger. I tried and tried to find an image to show his wonderfulness, but none would do. He has so many unique elements about him that everything was just to simple. In Mortal Danger, I didn’t really get the feels for Kian. But now I have found my guy (demon? Sure). He appears to be so plainly evil, but is so much more complex than that, and is more of an anti-villain. Like, he is bad and does bad things, but only because that is how humans created the image of him. He has a soft side (somewhere in there). He is basically my Warner (from Shatter Me series- he is my One True Book Boyfriend) of the series. If you mash up a demon that needs to suck souls to survive with Jareth from Labyrinth, you have The Harbinger. How is that not appealing? I love him and he is mine.
So Edie had many paths to choose from, and the one she picked at the end was definitely unexpected. I almost forgot that element was possible, so it made me really excited about continuing the series (along with needing more of the Harbinger, of course). There is still an epic battle to be fought, and at this point I have no idea how that will be going down. So now I wait. A year.
On the bright side, the author mentioned that she is also so obsessed with Harbinger that he will be getting his own story, a novella I assume! YAY!!!
If you enjoy mythology, demons, and the things that go bump in the night, the I suggest you pick up this series!
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This looks like it could be an interesting read. Lovely review!
Having only read one contemporary YA novel by Ann Aguirre (and loving) it, I’m eager to read more. I sort of skimmed your review when I saw this was for the second book in a series because I don’t like spoilers. Would you recommend I start with this series or another one? Have you read more then one book by her?
If you want to more, there is a review posted for the first book in the series as well. There should be a link you can click in the beginning of this review!
But these are pretty far from her contemporary, There is a lot of mythology, evil, and darkness in this series, so if you enjoy darker YA then I highly recommend!
Portia recently posted…Early Bird (Spoiler-Free) Review: Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass, #4) by Sarah J. Maas