Week 35 Review: A Song of Ash and Moonlight

From Goodreads:

New York Times bestselling author of Furyborn, Claire Legrand, enchants with a lush, sweeping, steamy enemies to lovers fantasy romance perfect for fans of Bridgerton and A Court of Thorns and Roses.

THE OLD WAR IS OVER. A NEW ONE IS JUST BEGINNING.

The curse plaguing the Ashbourne and Bask families has finally been broken, but Farrin, the eldest Ashbourne daughter, still struggles to find peace. Unflappable and tireless, her composure masks a seething sorrow. Since her mother abandoned the family, Farrin has been their rock—managing her father's temper, running the estate, keeping tight control over her dangerous musical power, and ignoring her own need for rest, distraction, and most of all, love.

In Ryder Bask, Farrin's stubborn strength has met its match. The man infuriates her. He's coarse, arrogant, annoyingly handsome. He's as tired of their feuding parents as she is, and he brims with some secret anger that mirrors Farrin's frustrated rage.

But Farrin must work with every ally she can—even the man she has been raised to hate. With every rising dawn, the Middlemist weakens further. Anointed magicians are disappearing. A fiery Olden creature is stalking Farrin. Strange visions haunt the High Queen Yvaine. And as Farrin and Ryder race to find stolen loved ones, they begin to realize a horrifying

The gods are not dead. They're waking up. And someone is hunting them.

My Review:
I had such a blast reading this book, I love her writing and the first book was really engaging and I wanted to follow Gemma's sisters and get their stories! That this story is enemies to lovers, was particularly thrilling to read. 

The Ashbourne and Bask families might have put aside their differences and worked together in the previous book, but there still are some hard emotions lingering. Plus the older generation didn't get the memo about peace and are more antagonistic, causing further problems when they are already dealing with this threat that was feeding off of their feud in the first place. 

The stakes are high in this book. After the reveal of the Warden's secrets, it becomes clear that the situation is deteriorating at a rapid rate. Which raises some hard questions about what is to be done. The idea of a mandatory recruitment of all girls, regardless of age or if there's magic, well, the Warden was right to question the gods motives. Especially once they learn what's been happening with the gods. Though it's not a great look that all the ones that the gods chose for these roles that are pretty awful, are girls...

So much happens in this book, and so much was revealed. I had a guess about who rescued her from the fire, and I loved seeing that play out. Some big moves were made, and I can't wait to see how things continue on in the sequel, this one was a game changer and I'm so excited to see where it leads!

This was a fantastic read and I can’t wait for Mara's story!

Author: Claire Legrand
Series: The Middlemist Trilogy #2
Read: August 24th, 2024 
Source: NetGalley 
Reason Why: Love her writing and this world, and it's a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2024 Book and a WoW Book! 
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Expected Publication: September 17th 2024 

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars