Excellent follow-up to We Ride the Storm. Things are taken to a whole other level in this thrill a minute fantasy series. Will have a full and complete review soon once I have time to gather my thoughts more and my other review commitments are written up and posted on the blog!

We Lie with Death // by Devin Madson

I struggled a little more with writing this review than the one for the first book. There were a lot of great things about this book but there were also parts that I really struggled with. One thing that really stood out to me as something that I wish every series had was that Madson did a recap of what has happened so far right at the beginning of the book. I read We Ride the Storm just last week so I could still remember what happened in that book easily but as someone that generally struggles with my memory and often cannot remember anything about books besides a very vague plot, this is very much appreciated. I really hope this will be done in book 3 as well since it is a few months before we get that one and I definitely will need a reminder.

In addition to Miko, Rah, and Cassandra, we also now get the point of view of Dashiva, a Levanti Sword loyal to Gideon. Thanks to Dishiva, we get to learn many new things about Levanti society but we also have a view of the events surrounding the new emperor, which are – let me tell you – quite a few. Gideon, who sounded so steadfast and sure of himself when he first sat upon the throne, has quite an interesting character development in this book. But he is not the only one whose character changes and adapts to its circumstances – whether in a positive or in a negative way: Miko, Rah, Jie, Tor, Dishiva, Cassandra, Kaysa . . . Even those characters that at first seemed so simple and easy to understand show us that they are quite complicated with complex feelings that influence the overall story in interesting ways.

Some of these characters, despite this intriguing growth, become involved in utterly confusing events though. When I thought I knew who Kaysa and Cassandra were separately, all of a sudden everything was turned upside down on its head. I have an inkling as to why this is going on though and if that is true, then hat off to the author because you really made it work effectively here. Also, when I thought I knew where in this world a certain character was located (I don’t want to say the name of this one to avoid spoilers), that assumption was dashed very soon after. While you definitely find out the reasons for some this by the end of the book, I have more mixed feelings about its execution this time. The idea was very clever. It adds a lot of intrigue to the book and I am excited to learn more in the next book. But I feel like something was still missing. Rather than being compelled to continue to read to find out what is going on, this particular unfolding of events kept pulling me out of the story and left me wondering whether I needed to go back and reread several sections a few more times to find out what I was missing. I see what Madson was trying to do and I love how she is incorporating different strategies into her books to keep the readers on their toes, but this time it didn’t work for me quite as well.

Overall though, I think I am pretty happy with the book now that I have had a few days to think it over. I am definitely planning on rereading this series in the future because it’ll be interesting to see the events unfold while knowing the motivations and capabilities of the different characters. I am also a big fan of world-building and learning about the magic systems and special abilities in books, so it was fun to find out more about souls, deathwalkers, reincarnations, etc. I was really worried about the confusion being too much at some point for me to stay invested in some of the characters in this book, but now I am just even more intrigued than ever and can’t wait to see what other interesting plot devices Madson is going to present to us in the future!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

2021 must be the year of sequels because I have so many hotly anticipated sequels, We Ride the Storm chief among them.

I loved the gripping breakneck pacing of book one and I’m so glad to see that hasn’t changed. We follow four characters in book two, Rah, Cassandra, Miko, and a new addition in Captain Dishiva. Madson does a really good job of bringing these characters to life and balancing their POVs in a way that doesn’t make me want to skip chapters (okay sometimes I do but only during cliffhangers). Even our new addition, Captain Dishiva, is quickly endearing and I found her plotline super fascinating because of it’s direct ties with Gideon’s hot mess and the slow unraveling of Leo Villius’ plans.

Personally, however, I loved Cassandra’s arc the most. She was definitely my favorite character in book one and that hasn’t changed with this book. I love her biting snark, her refusal to backdown from any fight, and her sheer will and determination that gets her into this political mess. I’m also a huge sucker for worldbuilding and mystery unraveling and it’s largely through Cassandra’s plotline that we get to learn about the more supernatural aspects, like why does Cassandra have a second voice in her head, what the actual fuck is wrong with Leo Villius, etc. The mysteries and little bits of information Madson drops here and there just kept me constantly on edge, wanting to discover more about this world.

Madson also does a fantastic job crafting the different cultural and political environments of the Kisiansv, Levanti, and Chiltaens. We get to see the themes of conflict in governmental differences between the Kisian and Levanti as Gideon attempt his bullshit takeover of the Kisean empire, all while trying to acclimate his own people to the Kisian culture. It’s fascinating watching the Levanti slowly chafe under these rulings and read their internal conflict between following Gideon and attempting to follow their old ways. Chiltea doesn’t get as much focus this book, but I’m really hoping their religion they follow under Leo gets more exploration in book three, because the small bits we do get to hear about sound extremely fascinating.

My one complaint with this book is fairly minor, that the ending felt very abrupt and climax lacking, and I feel this suffers book 2 syndrome bcause of that. Book 1 ends with a big battle between Miko and the Levanti/Chiltean empire, and I thought book 2 would end similarly with some battle. There are some minor fights that break out but there’s nothing extremely major. Instead, book 2 ends with each POV making a big informational revelation, which definitely builds up to major events that I’m sure will occur in book 3, I just wish this one ended more conclusively.

Overall, I rate this book a 4/5. I loved the worldbuilding and Madson is a master of drip-feeding her readers information to constantly keep us interested. I found all the POVs extremely enjoyable and the breakneck pacing was fantastic.

This one starts off almost immediately after the events of We Ride the Storm. Miko is on the run, her empire shattered into fragments. Rah is also on the run, after refusing to bow to the Levanti Emperor who conquered part of Kisia. Cassandra has been sold to the Witchdoctor, and finds herself in his custody with Emperess Hana, being experimented on. Cassandra’s willing to just go along with it, because the Witchdoctor may be the only person in the world that can help her get rid of the extra voice in her head. We also get POV chapters from Dishiva e’Jaroven, the commander of the new Levanti Emperor’s Imperial Guard. She’s doing her new job to the best of her ability, but there are some pretty shady shenanigans going on, and it’s up to her to figure out who is murdering pilgrims coming into the city. I really latched onto Dishiva and her story. It was really compelling, and I found myself reading on well past bedtime just to get more of it.

Cassandra and Hana are like polar opposites. One is very proper, like an empress should be, and the other is very not-proper, as an assassin/prostitute would probably be. Nevertheless, the relationship between Hana and Cassandra grew on me, because they both decide to make the best of their situation and just roll with whatever comes their way.

Rah finds himself with a new companion on his flight from the Levanti Emperor’s dungeon. I really enjoyed how the relationship between them developed, especially considering that there is a good chunk of their journey together in which they don’t speak the same language.

I loved this book just as much the second time as I did the first. Maybe a little more! The story was basically the same as I remembered, but all the same it felt fresh and new. It was fantastically written, and the pacing was nice and brisk and had me reading into the wee hours. There were bits that I had forgotten that surprised me yet again. I’d also forgotten the big reveal nearer to the end, and so I found myself asking the same question I had the first time around: what’s in the box? What indeed, We Lie With Death. What indeed.

This was a great addition to a great series and I cannot wait to get We Cry for Blood into my eyes. If you haven’t had a chance to read We Ride the Storm, run don’t walk. This was a fantastic follow-up! 5/5 stars!~