The Shadow Cabinet (HMRC, #2)

by Juno Dawson

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

The Shadow Cabinet is the second book in a modern fantasy trilogy by Juno Dawson. Released 20th June 2023 by Penguin Random House on their Penguin Books imprint, it's 528 pages and is available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. 

This is a NA selection, very well written but oddly paced. There are long swathes of internal dialogue where nothing much is going on in terms of action. The plot itself follows hard on the cliffhanger from the first book, and although the author/publisher have helpfully provided an abbreviated dramatis personae at the front of the book, readers coming into the read entirely cold will be lost and frustrated from the start. Additionally, if read out of order, the *major* spoilers for the ending of the first book will make reading them out of order literally anticlimactic. 

There is a huge cast of characters. The author does a good job of writing a spectrum of voices, gender identities, and ethnicities. As stated, the book includes a short list of characters and a very brief description of their relationships, but without prior familiarity, most readers will struggle to keep up.

It's well written, but (as with much NA lit), there is a significant amount of unnecessary drama and hopping over or forgetting unforgivable transgressions out of necessity to plot progression. For readers who hate cliffhangers, it might be worth it to wait until the next book is out, because this book (and the first) end on *huge* cliffhangers. 

Three and a half stars. The big deus ex machina subplot resolution as well as the "oh well, business as usual" reaction to Niamh/Ciara dinged the overall impression a fair bit. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.