Review – Wrath & Mercy (The Bright & the Pale, Book 2) by Jessica Rubinkowski (5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 416 pages
Publisher: Quill Tree Books
Release Date: March 22, 2022
ASIN: B097RKQ6GS
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in The Bright & the Pale duology
Source: Borrowed eBook from Library
Rating: 5/5 stars
“Surviving the ill-fated expedition to Knnot, Valeria, Alik, and the others have found refuge in Valeria’s village. Though Val should find comfort in reuniting with her family, everything has changed—including herself. For now, Val is the Pale God’s chosen champion. And she is ready for revenge on the Czar.
Gifted with the Pale God’s power, Val will do whatever it takes to liberate her people. Even if that means stealing the Czar’s son away from the safety of the Winter Palace. But as Alik watches Val struggle to maintain control over the god she holds captive, it becomes clear that the Pale God plans a revenge of his own.
The inevitable is coming: one final battle. And Valeria must be ready to sacrifice everything—even her love for Alik—to win.”
Series Info/Source: This is the 2nd book in The Bright & the Pale duology. I borrowed an ebook of this from my library.
Thoughts: I absolutely loved The Bright & the Pale and was very much looking forward to reading the conclusion to this duology. This book met, and exceeded, my expectations! I loved it so much.
This book picks up where the last book left off; Valeria has accepted the Pale God’s power and is on a mission to overthrow the current Czar and save her people. However, as things progress Alik is watching Valeria become less herself and more Pale God. Will Valeria be able to save her people with the Pale God’s power and save herself too? Or will the power of the Pale God overwhelm her and the centuries long battle between the Bright God and the Pale God continue?
So much happens in this book. Valeria is learning to use her new power, she is adventuring in hopes of gaining allies and freeing her people to form an army. I loved her steadfast companions and how her family is involved in the story as well. Alik was amazing and I loved how he took a less typical male role but was still incredibly important to the story. He ends up becoming Valeria’s moral compass and puts enormous effort into helping her stay herself.
As I was getting toward the end of the book I was actually getting a little nervous that this was going to be a trilogy. There was so much going on I had no idea how Rubinkowski was going to wrap it up without the story feeling incomplete or rushed. However, I shouldn’t have worried…the story ended magnificently! It didn’t feel rushed, contrived, or incomplete…it was perfect!
The writing style is so easy to read here. The world-building is very well done and complete, I loved the characters, the action, and the magical ever warring gods. This was a very solid fantasy duology that I thoroughly enjoyed. I have been so spoiled with the last few books I have read, they have all been excellent.
My Summary (5/5): Overall I loved this, it does a perfect job wrapping up this fantasy adventure duology. While this book is more politically focused than the last one, there is still plenty of magic, adventure, and action. The plot, world-building, magic, and characters were all incredibly well done. This was an easy and entertaining read and I definitely plan on checking out more books by Rubinkowski in the future! I would highly recommend this duology if you are looking for a solid fantasy adventure story!
