Didn’t manage to finish this while it was on her but have since finished it and loved it as much if not more than the first one

A compelling sequel to the Hawkweed Prophecy following the paths of the six MCs through an exciting and thought provoking narrative. The big question is what does it mean to accept love and offer it was well examined. Highly recommend these books tonYA fantasy fans.

I really enjoyed The Hawkweed Prophecy and wanted to read Legacy but it is in a different format and I am not able to read this book on my computer. The first one was in ebook format which I could read on my kindle.

The second book in The Hawkweed Prophecy series, The Hawkweed Legacy, is here! Witches, clans, sisterhood and magic - this series is so wonderfully women-centric that I love it.

In the first book, The Hawkweed Prophecy, the witches are looking for their new queen. If you haven't read this book yet, you might want to pick it up now and come back to this review because it's impossible to talk about book 2 without giving some secrets from book 1 away. Bookmark me...

In this story, it's time for Poppy to step up and be queen. Except, she doesn't want to and the whole plan starts falling apart. Ember and Leo go back to the chaff world but nothing is the same without Poppy. Essentially, they thought life could go on as normal, but it can't.

This time the novel is split into a range of perspectives and acts as almost a prequel in some ways to show how the past is influencing the present. The timeline splits into Poppy's life now and the history of Charlock's old friend Betony. I enjoyed the beautiful descriptions of Poppy's travels in the opening and the Ember, Leo, Poppy love triangle continues in such a heartbreaking way. So many of these characters as self-sacrificing that it hurts to read. I mean that in the best way.

The story churned by emotions even more as Sorrel becomes such a complex character and I still don't know if I love or hate her. The witch clans are still bubbling with tension and I can't help but wonder, is book 3 when we're going to get an out and out war with full on battle scenes? What's that going to look like? I am so caught up in this building tension that I will definitely be continuing with the series.

Yet, book 2 wasn't 100% perfect for me. Irena Brignull's standard of writing and her enchanting story-telling ways remained completely engaging (come on, those animal descriptions are on point), but I found that I missed a lot of the story elements from Book 1. The narrative was split into more perspectives, meaning less Poppy and Ember time and I also hugely missed their friendship. Okay, Charlock remained a key part of the story, but I had always hoped that Melanie would step up and shine. It felt that some characters were being very clearly left in the past to make way for some new ones, like Betony and Danny. I was not ready to let go of some of my favourites just yet.

All in all, I don't think anyone could call themselves disappointed with this follow up. 'Even-more-engaged' would be a better description. While book 2 directly picks up from the end of book 1 and takes the Hawkweed girls to new levels of despair and anguish (and me along with them) I remain completely thrilled by this series. I feel like the best is still yet to come.

This book is a multiple POV type book with the character's names listed at the start of the chapter so you know who's point of view you're in. Would have been really helpful if I'd noticed that from the beginning, perhaps I wouldn't have been so confused by the time changes. Nice one Judith, ten points from Ravenclaw. But in general I think this is used well, it doesn't feel gratuitous and I think it was a good way of dealing with telling a story from the past and the present at the same time without writing in big letters THE PAST at the top of the chapter.

I like Brignull's writing style for the most part. At times the voice she captures feels pretty young but I think that's what she was going for since the witches in this story are sort of shut away from society so they wouldn't necessarily use the most 'up to date' vocab. They do use the word 'yoke' to mean 'have sex with' which is equal parts hilarious and cringe. You'll laugh, you'll wince, what's not to like.

I do think that, had I read book one first, I would have liked these characters more. I know I say that all the time and it must be pretty irritating for those of you who have read the first book but I am just trying to recognise the way the book feels when you read it as a standalone. That being said, I did really enjoy a book with so many female characters who were not always fighting against one another. It felt like one of my TTT wishes coming true before my very eyes (now I just need more diversity stat!)

I liked Poppy, she seemed fairly realistic for a young woman who is suddenly queen of a bunch of witches and isn't sure she wants to be. Ember was also a relatable character. I think there's someone in whom every reader can find themselves in this book, that's part of what I think could make or break it. Will people love that fact or will they find it dilutes the plot?

Let's not go too far into the relationships or we might have to mention 'yoking' again and I'll die of laughter. There are some relationships, some good, some bad, some involving sex that is somehow non consensual on the part of both parties (magic+sex=never a good idea don't write it please) so warning for those who don't want to read about that! There are also some really interesting mother/daughter and old childhood friends relationships that make for great chemistry between various characters and added something to the usual sister/friend/boyfriend element that usually springs around YA fiction.

Final Thoughts

This was a fun, quick, witchy read. Though there were elements that felt a little hastily thrown together (there is no explanation as to how magic works, it just does) but on the whole the story is quite enjoyable and I would say I had a good time reading it. I mean there were no mythical creatures of any kind so how can I be 100% happy but then again a girl can't always get everything she wants.

My Rating: 3/5 (nothing to write home about but I wouldn't say it wasn't worth my time)

The Hawkweed Legacy publishes on June 1st so there is still time to grab hold of a preorder before then!

J

By the way, I received a digital advanced review copy of The Hawkweed Legacy from the publishers (Orchard Books) in exchange for an honest review (thankyou!). All opinions are, as always, my own.

Unfortunately, I am unable to read the book in the format that is provided for download. I read on a kindle paperwhite which doesn't support Protected PDF files. Would it be possible to get a mobi copy via either the send to kindle option being made available or by email?