The Mirror King (Orphan Queen, #2)

by Jodi Meadows

[ladygrey]

A lot of times when I read a book and I get to like the last 150 pages, I think there aren’t enough pages left for the story. And somehow the author will end up wrapping things up but the climax is right on top of the end and there isn’t enough emotional reward in the aftermath.

I thought there weren’t enough pages for this story too, but The Mirror King has a very satisfying conclusion. And not only that, the climax is personal and emotional and not just all action and fighting.

Still, in some ways this is a hard book. Because sad thing happen. And they aren’t magically undone. The end is good but it isn’t a happily ever after because it’s tinged with loss. And with grief. There is the promise of recovery, but some things cant be undone and so emotionally... it’s peaceful, even hopeful, without being elated or I don’t know... happy.

Still I have come to really enjoy these characters. I want more of them in another book. I want to go back right away and reread the first book.

One of the things Meadows does well is progress the plot without losing the deeper emotional, character moments. Though, I’m still not sure what I think of Meredith’s death. It was shocking. Which was good. But also inevitable - I knew for Tobiah and Wil to be together either he wouldn’t marry Meredith or she’d die. I just expected it to be in the war or from the wraith encroachment or something. Because there was so much emotion built into Tobiah and Wil’s betrayal that never really hit hard and was replaced by guilt once she died. What if she had found out? If there was a reckoning for their betrayal? I don’t know. I did like how both Tobiah and Wil reacted to her death and the consequences of it so maybe it was the right choice.

Also, James. As soon as Chrysalis said he wasn’t real, I was on edge, wondering if Jodi would do something horrible, do something that would make him less of the great guy and great friend that he was. The idea of a replacement occurred to me, but not as far back as the One Night War. In the end it was really sad but I liked that he was still James. Being magic didn’t make him any less of the guy that was so fun to read.

And Chrysalis. I really liked the section about him being a reflection of Wil and her desperate desires. I wish that had been threaded through a bit better so it was more obvious as the different destructions were happening rather than pulled together in the one scene of Wil’s realization. I think their was more there - in the wraith as a reflection of magic - in the wraith not liking mirrors and being contained by mirrors - in Chrysalis as a living expression of that - that was just not quite fully realized. But it was good and could have made things even more interesting.

I also have to give Jodi credit because when Wil was leaving for Aecor I thought the story wouldn’t be any fun anymore with her and Tobiah. But it was. Wil was actually an interesting enough character that I liked enough that she held the story... with help from her friends, especially James and Melanie. Dialog and conversation and emotional tugs and twists always make stories better and she was able to keep it all together enough to keep it interesting for a lot of pages.

In the end, I wish it hadn’t been quite so sad. But it’s good and I want a bit more.