The Pawn of Isis (Klaereon Scroll, #2)

by Catherine Schaff-Stump

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

I've been wrestling with my review of this novel. I loved book 1 of this series so much that I was dying to get my hands on book two. And after finishing book 2, I definitely want to read book 3, but book 2 didn't leave me wanting in the same way book 1 did. I'll see if I can explain.

The writing definitely flows better in book 2. While I did enjoy book 1, I felt like the writing was very formal and tight feeling. Because the writing seems to flow better, I was able to read The Pawn of Isis at a comfortable clip.

However, I question whether Pawn of Isis starts in the right spot. The flashbacks to events in the past left me feeling confused and lost. Time was moving forward and backward too quickly leaving things feeling disjointed. It felts like a lot of info dumping at times a result because the reader had to know about A LOT of stuff that happened in the past plus remember what happened in book 1 and keep up how all those things affected the incidents currently on deck.

I still love Lucy, but her ongoing "relationship" with Ra is confusing on paper. It's hard to know who is talking when and who actually has control of the situation. This also happens with Drusus/Khun.

Carlo saw the most growth in this book, but too much is left off the page. Carlo is a schemer and there were hints he was working on stuff to make "everything turn out okay," but as a reader, I wanted to see how his mind and his machinations worked.

So what do I want to see in book 3? A more straightforward timeline and more explanations on the world of magic in this story. As book 2 went on, it became increasingly clear, especially as other magical families were added into the story, I don't get how it all works.

Oh, and can we get more George and Helen? I want to know Helen's story. And George...well, I don't want to spoil it!

I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.