Review – Kindred Rites (Night Calls , Book 2) by Katharine Eliska Kimbriel (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 368 pages
Publisher: Harpercollins
Release Date: November 1997
ISBN-13: 978-0061057960
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Night Calls series
Source: Swapped through Paperbackswap.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

“Now that Alfreda has begun to learn the Wise Arts, she is needed at home in the village of Sun Return. The woods around the cabin are alive with poltergeists. Candles light by themselves, and even the rocks dance. There is much work for an apprentice practitioner.
But a more dangerous task calls. For a new family has moved to the frontier; a family with strange ambitions and even stranger powers. And chief among them is an enigmatic man known on the Other Side as The Keeper of Souls….”
This was the second book in the Night Calls series and was a great continuation of this series. There are three book in this series, the third one is called The Spiral Path and has already been released. I have really been enjoying these books; there is a lot of magic, fantasy elements, survival, and herb lore.

The whole story has a very traditional fantasy feel to it which reminded me of fantasy books I read back in the 90’s (I guess that makes sense since this was release in the 90’s). The pace is deliberate and the story takes some time to build. However, I don’t really mind because I find Alfreda’s training to be so interesting. There is a lot of traditional witchcraft and herblore in this book which is very intriguing. This book also had a lot about survival skills which I enjoy reading about.

Alfreda is really tested in this book when she is kidnapped by a relative of the Keeper of Souls. She has to put both all of her survival skills and magical skills to test. I really love how steadfast and competent Alfreda is. She is an awesome heroine.

I love this alternate world where dark magic haunts the night and really enjoy how magic is blended into a frontier type lifestyle.

Overall this was a great addition to this series. I enjoy Alfreda as a character and the harsh world she lives in. I also loved learning about the herblore and survival tactics that were featured in this book. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy traditional fantasy type stories and don’t mind a story that moves at a more deliberate pace.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
– Mount TBR Reading Challenge
– Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge