Disclaimer: I am friends with the author; I received an electronic version of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is very obviously the middle book in a trilogy; at the same time, it does not suffer many of the issues that middle books usually employ. Instead, it works as a solid follow-up to Meservier’s debut novel, both by answering holdover questions and posing fascinating new ones.
Things take a bit to get started, and Dawn (formerly Red and Black, now officially the superhero Hikari) frustrated me with her angst. On the other hand, Alex (fabulously ambiguous hero/antihero Faultline) had a story line I found myself much more invested in.
Intriguing character reveals were the highlights of this story for me. One secret identity felt a little too convenient, but the other blew me away. I appreciate books with no obvious bad guy, and this one hit all my buttons. Another fantastic reveal involves how Meservier balances superhero cliches rooted in a firmly urban fantasy setting, and I’m excited to learn more about Dawn’s powers in the next book.
This is not your average superhero story. Readers looking for a unique take on the urban fantasy genre should not miss out on this series.
Rating: 4 (out of 5) stars. Cross-posted to Amazon and Goodreads.