Review – Cobweb Empire (Cobweb Bride, Book 2) by Vera Nazarain (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 386 pages
Publisher: Leda
Release Date: September 25, 2013
ISBN-13: 978-1607621225
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Cobweb Bride trilogy
Source: Bought
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the second book in the Cobweb Bride trilogy. The final book in the series, The Cobweb Forest, has already been released. I enjoyed this book a lot, I love some of the characters and ideas in this story. The descriptions are lush and detailed as well.

The girls that went to Death’s Keep to determine if they were the Cobweb Bride are returning home. Percy journeys with them and finds out that she has been granted the power to grant true death and is now Death’s Champion. She is meet with a wide variety of response; some people are grateful for her ability to grant true death and others label her a witch. Percy soon leaves her home town and continues to follow the strange tug she feels towards the true Cobweb Bride.

This is an epic fantasy with some interesting ideas. In the first book of this series we find out that Death is refusing to do his job. As a result no one dies anymore instead they live on in terrible pain and misery. Food cannot be killed or cooked and as a result people are starving. Death has promised to resume his duties if someone finds his Cobweb Bride.

This book switches between a number of different viewpoints. My favorite by far is Percy. She is a simple girl who has been granted the power of giving true death, that of Death’s Champion. She must use that power to go on a journey to find Death’s Cobweb Bride. In this book we get to see her wield her new power a lot and also get to witness the toll this power takes on her. We also spend a lot of time with the Black Knight and he is a wonderful character too.

Additionally there is the Empress, she is evil and deadly and beautiful and makes a great addition to the story.

The only problem I have with this book is that it is very wordy. While I love the detailed descriptions, sometimes it gets to be a bit much and the story starts to drag because of it. Also I really enjoyed Percy’s portions of the book much more than any of the other characters. So sometimes I would find myself skimming through the “non-Percy” sections quickly…trying eagerly to get to the next Percy section of the book.

Overall this was a wonderful continuation of the Cobweb Bride series. This is a beautifully written epic fantasy with a creative premise and wonderful characters. I really enjoyed it a lot. The only complaint is that the book can get kind of wordy at times. Additionally I enjoyed Percy’s sections so much more than everyone elses, I found myself quickly pushing through the other POVs to get back to hers. Recommended to epic fantasy lovers who enjoy lush descriptions. I can’t wait to read the final book in the series, The Cobweb Forest.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
– Mythology Reading Challenge