Review – The Singer (Irin Chronicles, Book 2) by Elizabeth Hunter (3.5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Length: 330 pages
Publisher: Recurve Press LLC
Release Date: May 6, 2014
ASIN: B00IXS1NYI
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Irin Chronicles
Source: Borrowed ebook through Kindle Unlimited
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
“Ava left Istanbul with a new identity, new name, and new magic she could barely control. Laid low by Malachi’s sacrifice, she searches for help from the fabled Irina, but will the secretive women of the Irin race welcome or shun her? Ava’s origins are still a mystery, and her powers are darker than any they’ve encountered before.
The Irin world hangs in the balance. And as the children of angels battle their own demons, ancient rivalries among the Fallen threaten to wreak havoc on earth. Thousand of miles away, a warrior wakes with no memory of his identity or his people. Stumbling through the twisted schemes of fallen angels, ravenous Grigori, and even his own leaders, he must find a way back to the one thing he remembers. A single voice calls him. Malachi has one mission. “Come back to me.”
Series Info/Source: This is the second book in the Irin Chronicles. I bought a copy of this as an ebook for my Kindle.
Thoughts: I mentioned in my review of the first book of this series, “The Scribe”, that I had some reservations about that book. Those reservations continued for me through this book. This series just feels a bit dated somehow. This review will contain spoilers for those who haven’t read the first book in this series.
Ava has been taken to a secret Irina stronghold where she can recover from her grief over Malachi’s death and learn how to hone her substantial Irina powers. I absolutely loved that Ava does this because I hate it when paranormal heroines suddenly instantly know how to control their newly acquired powers.
Meanwhile, Malachi awakens and doesn’t remember where he is or who he is. As time passes he does remember enough to find his way back to his Irin brothers but he is constantly plagued by Ava’s memory and her calling him back to her. Problem is no one knows where Ava is because the Irina stronghold location is highly secret. Aside from Ava and Malachi’s separate issues, the power structure of the Grigori is shifting and the safety of humanity could be at stake.
This series continues to have a very classic paranormal romance feel to it. There is excellent world-building here and a very well done broader plot as well. So, although romance does drive the plot, there are enough other story elements to make this an enjoyable and well-balanced story. I really enjoyed the first portions of this book. I loved watching Ava learn about her powers and really enjoyed watching Malachi make his way back to her. It was later in the book that I lost interest. I was so excited to see Ava and Malachi re-unite but the way things played out was a bit anti-climatic and kind of depressing (trying to not have spoilers here).
I have really read and loved a lot of Hunter’s other series (Cambrio Springs, Moonstone Cove, and Glimmer Lake), so I am not sure why this series is a bit of a miss for me. It is easy to read and well-written. The world-building is well done. There is a decent plot and a decent romance. I enjoy that there is some action and cool magical powers as well. I just don’t find this world of angels and demons that interesting and I don’t find myself that engaged with the characters. Ava, especially seems distanced from the reader in this book and I am not sure if that was intentional or not. I found myself loosing interest in the second half of the book and struggling to complete it.
My Summary (3.5/5): Overall this is a well done continuation to this series. The world-building is well done, the plot is intriguing, and there is some sizzling romance throughout. This writing flows smoothly and it’s easy to read. However, there’s something off about this series that I just can’t quite put my finger on. I was left feeling bored and uninterested in the second half of this book. This may be just a “me” problem since this feels a bit dated to me and I have read sooo much paranormal romance in the past that this just feels like more of the same. At this point I don’t plan on continuing this series. I think I will pick up a different Hunter series to try instead; I have really enjoyed a lot of her other series but this one is just a miss for me…which is surprising because it is one of her most popular series.
