Empire of Night (Age of Legends, #2)

by Kelley Armstrong

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Reading With ABC http://readingwithabc.com http://readingwithabc.com/review-empire-of-night-by-kelley-armstrong/I’m a big fan of Kelley Armstrong’s YA series, which thus far had been paranormal in nature. Last year when she released Sea of Shadows, the first book of the Age of Shadows series, I was thrilled. Finally a fantasy!!! I loved the first book and Empire of Night, its sequel was a great addition to the series.

This book picks up a few days after the end of Sea of Shadows and finds Moira and Ashlyn still under the Emperor’s protection. They are given a ‘quest’ by the Emperor to assess other town where the children of Edgewood were taken to. Together with Tyrus, one of prices, soldiers and advisors, they leave to complete this quest. As you can imagine, things did not go well.

Moira is the Keeper. She’s a kick-ass fighter, a protector, a strategist, trained to keep everyone safe, including herself. Ashlyn is the Seeker, she’s just as smart, but gentler, she’s a healer and has a compulsion to soothe. Again, Moira and Ashlyn are separated again for a big part of the book. They have different adventures and trials, but just as strenuous. It’s hard to know who is a friend and who isn’t, so their circle of friends gets smaller and tighter.

“She is the Keeper,” Emperor Tatsu said. “Have you forgotten that?”

Tyrus kept his gaze on his father’s sandals. “No, I---“

The emperor’s voice rose, the edge cutting through the silent palace grounds. “This is not a pretty serving girl to dally with. She is the gift of our ancestors, sent to protect their spirits and protect us from evil. She is sacred.”

Now, on to the romance. There’s a lot of romantic tension between Prince Tyrus and Moira and a bit between Moira and Gavril (yes! Gravril is in this book, but I’m not sure if it’s good or bad yet). I like Tyrus much better since he’s more sincere and seems to genuinely care for Moira. Ronan also makes an appearance, but he has made no moves toward Ashlyn and is sending mixed signals. So, as you can see there is not much romance, until almost the ending. I don’t want to give anything away though.

“He glanced up, and she recognized the shadow-shrouded shape of this features.

“Ronan?” she said. “What are you doing here?”

“Keeping the world safe for you to piss in,” he said. “Apparently, it’s a full-time job.”

The writing is amazing, as well as the world building. I love the banter between the characters, and of course the characters themselves they are very well fleshed out. Oh, the ending! That was a nasty cliffhanger! If you recall, I dislike cliffhangers a LOT.

Overall, Empire of Night was really good. It expands of the complexity of the upcoming war and the deceit of the Kitsunes. Obviously there is something else going on and I’m dying to know what it is. Thank goodness that I have an ARC of Forest of Ruin, the last book of the series, which I plan to read soon!!!This review was originally posted on Reading With ABC