Monday, August 11, 2014

Review: The Perilous Sea by Sherry Thomas


The Perilous Sea by Sherry Thomas
Book Two of the Elemental series
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: September 16, 2014
Rating: 4 stars
Source: ARC sent by the publisher

Summary (from Goodreads):

After spending the summer away from each other, Titus and Iolanthe (still disguised as Archer Fairfax) are eager to return to Eton College to resume their training to fight the Bane. Although no longer bound to Titus by a blood oath, Iolanthe is more committed than ever to fulfilling her destiny—especially with the agents of Atlantis quickly closing in.

Soon after arriving at school, though, Titus makes a shocking discovery, one that makes him question everything he previously believed about their mission. Faced with this devastating realization, Iolanthe is forced to come to terms with her new role, while Titus must choose between following his mother's prophecies—and forging a divergent path to an unknowable future.

What I Liked:

HOLY GUACAMOLE, EVERYONE. This book was intense! It was intense and I LOVED it. Thomas keeps up the pace and the excitement set in book one, but adds twists and turns and puzzles that made this book feel like a pretzel or Twizzlers or something! Mind-blowing, that's what this book was.

Titus and Iolanthe survived the battle with the Inquisitor and the Bane, though the Bane still lives and must be destroyed. After a too-short summer, they find themselves back at Eton, where things just aren't the same. Atlantis seems to come closer and closer to Iolanthe, and even at the non-mage school, the prince and lightning mage aren't safe. Titus discovers new information that could jeopardize everything, and Iolanthe finds herself at a crossroads. As paths unfold and secrets are brought to light, Titus and Iolanthe must remember themselves and the love they hold for each other in order to survive and save everyone.

I admit, I was so afraid of reading this sequel. I LOVED The Burning Sky so much, so I didn't want to read this book and dislike it. I'd rather be ignorant and never know how book two ended up, it seems. Of course, I would never do that to myself, because I'm just too curious and I loved book one too much to NOT read book two. But still, sequel terror is real, everyone. Thank goodness this sequel did not disappoint! As I suspected it wouldn't. Even though I doubted. Oops?

The plot is incredibly complex and labyrinth-like. It amazed me how many twists and turns and curve balls that Thomas threw in this one book! Information was discovered left and right - new information that changed many, many things. Titus relies heavily on his mother's diary, but he soon finds out that his mother's observations of her visions are very... open-ended. Open to interpretation. This complicates things.

Also, there are two plots to this book. One occurs in the Sahara Desert, in which two people (who, of course, are Titus and Iolanthe) wake up in the desert with no personal memories, no memories of themselves, but memories of life in general. They do not remember themselves, each other, how they got there, but they remember about the Bane, Atlantis, etc. This plot worried me a bit, because of course the two people were Titus and Iolanthe. But this plot happens seven weeks after the "real-time" plot at Eton. So what if Titus and Iolanthe never regained their memories?! What if everything is messed up? Ahhh!

The second plot occurs seven weeks BEFORE the Sahara Desert one - but each plot is told simultaneously. So it's like we know the past (while we are in the Desert chapters), or the future (while we are in the England chapters). It's weird to think about, and it stressed me out to read the to (I hate dual plots like that, in which they are not synced in the same time, but one is in the future), but this one really worked, and the ending was very satisfactory.

Titus... I love Titus. I loved him in book one, and while he annoyed me a tiny bit with his unshakable faith in his mother's diary, he still amazed me in general. That boy is so powerful, so collected, so intelligent, so cautious. He's literally perfect without always acting or seeming perfect, necessarily. He never sleeps and is always taking care of others, so he definitely seems like a martyr, and not a spoiled prince. Titus, I'll be your Chosen One elemental mage any day...

And Iolanthe - I really like her. One of the things I really like about non-alternating dual perspectives in third person is that I usually like the protagonists more when the perspectives are in the third person. Iolanthe goes through a lot, emotionally, in this book, and I'm glad we witness that via third person narrative. I love that Iolanthe did and did not give up on Titus. I love her decisions in the end. 

The ending! Oh my heart. I thought the ending would never come - I was so fearful for so many things. Things ended to my liking, not necessarily perfect, but to my liking. I LOVE how Thomas built this trilogy - the third book will be EPIC. The war with Atlantis and the battle against the Bane will definitely make a remarkable - INSANE - conclusion to an intense and immensely creative series!

What I Did Not Like:

Just a few small things, things that are definitely "Alyssa quirks". I really don't like the dual plot lines, in which one is in the future, so we know what WILL happen, because we see it happening in the future, as the "present" is also happening. It's not that it's confusing, but I just hate ALREADY knowing. And in this case, Titus and Iolanthe suffer from memory loss in the "future". Will they ever remember everything?! Will they ever love each other again?! Will they know who they are and their roles in the war against Atlantis?!

Of course, this just makes the book that much more infuriatingly engrossing - I just had to know, without looking at the ending, of course. So it's a good and bad thing!

Also, one thing I also mentioned in the dislikes of book one - more romance, pleaseeee! More Titus and Iolanthe. Alone. Together. Not trying to save the world or save each other. Another reason for an epic conclusion. *winks*

Would I Recommend It:

YEEEEEESSSSSSSS!! THE SERIES, IN GENERAL!! Definitely read The Burning Sky if you haven't already, and be sure to catch this sequel. Historical fantasy at its finest, in my opinion! You won't regret the decision to start this series. 

Rating:

4 stars. More like 4.5 stars. I am convinced that book three will blow us all away and that it will be the best book of the series. I AM READY!


Was this review helpful? Please let me know in the comments section!

20 comments:

  1. Yay! I really enjoyed this one too. I love this series and Sherry's writing. I'll be reading the next for sure. Great review!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Awesome! I'm so glad! I hope you loveeee book three, Kristen :D Thank you so much!

      Delete
  2. So happy to hear you love this series so much. I have both copies of books and I really need to settle in and read them back to back. I cant wait.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. YOU MUST READ THIS SERIES, HEIDI!! Seriously!! Get to it!!

      Delete
  3. I cannot wait to finish reading this one! LOVED The Burning Sky and Titus is officially one of my favorite characters ever!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. EEEE! I have the same fears!! You have definitely made me feel better, though, since I loved the first book just as much as you did! And the dual plot quirk is not one of mine.. .Though it will kill me not to find out if they regain their memories! I WANT ROMANCE AND I WANT IT NOW.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. *pacifies Rachel* It's okay! I seriously liked this one so YOU MUST AS WELL. And LOL that's what I said about the romance! Dudeeeeee, go go go!!

      Delete
  5. LOL :D I agree. I need them to have alone time. NOW, PLEASE. I needed more romance too... <3 but I still found this book to be beautiful. It was perfect, wasn't it? So good. Sigh. I am DYING for book three :D Amazing review sweetie. <3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. YES. RIGHT?! Hopefully book three has soooo much romance and all-time scenes. HOPEFULLY.

      Thank you, Carina!

      Delete
  6. I have skimmed reading the review cause I haven't read book one yet and I know I ought to read it already!! I really ought to get onto it soon, right? ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DOOOOO ITTTTTT!! It's one of my favorite series ever and it hasn't even ended yet!! OMG!!

      Delete
    2. *pushes for Sept schedule*

      Delete
  7. I'm tempted to pick up the series- especially since you keep talking about how there's not enough romance ;) - but on the other hand, I have so much other stuff to read right now, maybe wait for the final book to come out and binge read? Great review!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. YOU SHOULD. YOU SHOULD YOU SHOULD YOU SHOULD.

      OKAY FINE YOU CAN BINGE-READ THEM, I'LL GIVE YOU PERMISSION ;P


      Thank you!!

      Delete
  8. I'm putting our review of this one up next week! I'm kind of like you where I could take or leave dual perspectives. SOMETIMES I think they make the story better, but most of the time I find it distracting because it's very hard to make the voices different, especially in third person. This is a series I really should get cracking on, but for now I'm glad two other lovely reviewers got the chance to read it! :) Happy reading, Alyssa!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. YAY! Excellent! I'm so glad to hear that! Thank YOU for sending me a copy! I'm happy that the team enjoyed this one, Rachel! I hoep you read and love the series! :)

      Delete
  9. Like you, I am terrified to read this book! I've heard it's crazy and lots of feelings and some bad stuff comes Titus and Iolanthe's way and now I'm just plain worried. I will have to try SO hard not to peek at the ending - but you're review gives me hope.

    Titus is my favorite character in the book - I'm glad to see he's back to his usual self here. :)

    Great review, Alyssa!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Basically THAT. Sequels are so difficult. BEHAVE, SEQUELS. However, you must read this one - you will love it, Danielle! DO NOT LOOK AT THE ENDING!! It's worth it, I promise. Promise :D

      Thank you so much!!

      Delete

I love comments! I will always try and reply to your comments, as well as leave some comment love on your blog! :)

Also, this an award and tag free blog. While I am flattered that you would think of me, I really do not have the time to follow up. Thank you!