(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

Beset on all sides by mortal and supernatural enemies, The Children of Fire – four mortals touched by the power of Chaos – are in search of the Talismans that can put a stop to an ancient enemy of the Gods.
But in doing so, they unleash a flood of Chaos magic on the land – leaving death, destruction and
a vengeful queen in their wake...

*2.5 stars*

This is the second book in The Chaos Born series. I am not convinced it is better than the first one.

For me, the problem wasn't the story itself. It had all the right fantasy elements right there. The story is pretty well told. The world-building was strong, and I appreciated the land that was set out for this book.

But, for me, there were two real issues. Firstly, the cliché characters: elves in the forest, scary barbarians, demon kings and overly zealous humans. Been there, read that. And they really suffered from no major development. There wasn't much growth for anyone in the book.
Secondly, there is a big chunk of this book that is boring. Through the middle 1/3 (or maybe it was even half) of the book, I felt like the story drifted along and didn't force me to keep reading. Nothing really happens. I got the feeling as I was reading that it was suffering from the "middle book syndrome" - just a vehicle to set up the finale of the trilogy. That's what it felt like. I think the story could have been done better as a duology. Not really enough in this book to justify its 400 pages.


Paul
ARH

Really dark and enjoyable