The Bitter Twins is the second installment in The Winnowing Flame trilogy that delivers an imaginative continuation of the story set up in The Ninth Rain. With its fascinating worldbuilding, vibrant characters, and themes of loyalty and survival, the book keeps readers engaged, though it occasionally stumbles under the weight of its own ambition.

Williams has a knack for creating endearing and flawed heroes, and the growing bond between the protagonists adds an emotional core to the high-stakes plot.

The world of Sarn remains one of the series’ greatest strengths. Williams blends elements of fantasy and science fiction seamlessly, with lush descriptions and compelling history that feel both ancient and alien. However, the pacing in The Bitter Twins can be somewhat uneven. Additionally, while the action sequences are thrilling, they sometimes overshadow quieter moments of character development.

Despite these flaws, The Bitter Twins remains an enjoyable and inventive read, setting the stage for an epic conclusion. Fans of the first book will find much to love, though newcomers may struggle without prior context. It’s a solid middle book, but it doesn’t quite soar to the heights of its predecessor.

Magic, hopeful adventures to ancient sites, mysteries and revelations, nightmarish beasts and so much more, set among the backdrop of a richly developed world! It feels good to be back in this world and with these characters, even though Jen Williams puts them through hell.

Jen Williams is a storyteller who executes pace for a story of this magnitude exquisitely. Her books are hefty, which some people may be wary of, but there’s not a second of this book in which my attention wavered because some way or another the story is always moving forward, and twists and turns are weaved into the story right up to the very end that you’re constantly questioning and turning the next page to find out what will happen next.

There is this wonderful balance between action and emotional, character-driven scenes, with humour and warmth intertwined into the serious, and sometimes heart-breaking, elements — these characters are allowed to have a break from the constant feeling of ‘will-this-character-make-it-through-this-scene’, and a break from simply living every second trying to survive and protect their home. Among the action, which is on a cinematic scale, we see the longing, the struggles and grief that our characters experience, but also the beauty of belonging and of finding oneself.

I adore the dynamics between these complex characters and their companionship. It’s done in such an organic way that the characters feel real. I’m invested in these characters, their flaws, their hopes. I know that not all of these characters will make it, but I’m rooting for them.

The fantastically created world that we were introduced to in The Ninth Rain is expanded on in The Bitter Twins, as we explore more of Ebora, Sarn, spend time with the Jurelia, learn some of the history of Ebora and are introduced to new characters, which all adds to this fascinating and intricate world.

“They all hear the song between them,” said Cephalon glumly. “And it did not seem wrong to them or broken. All I have is this poison song, and I am alone with it.” *Cue tears*

Jen Williams has set the story up for an enthralling finale. I can’t wait!

I’ve long been a fan of Jen Williams’ fantasy writing. She creates interesting worlds with characters who positively ooze character. That said, her second and current series, The Winnowing Flame, hasn’t captured my imagination as much as The Copper Cat, but that’s not to say Williams isn’t continuing to deliver new and interesting takes on well-trodden fantasy tropes. Where The Copper Cat took aim at traditional mercenary and adventure fantasy, The Winnowing Flame offers up a female Indiana Jones in a world populated by witches and vampires.

The Bitter Twins, unfortunately, suffers from a bad case of middle book syndrome. There’s little of a defining narrative to this single novel and the ending is more of a brief pause in the action before the final instalment. Where the first book, The Ninth Rain, had the majority of the main cast of characters together throughout, The Bitter Twins has them sprawled out across the world, with plot threads spread out with them. This is of detriment to the overall momentum of the novel. The reader’s attention is split over too many strands, limiting the efficacy of all of them. No one main character or narrative arc keeps us glued to the page, whizzing along.

The plot further suffers from some serious pacing issues. It isn’t until after the halfway mark that the plot really takes flight. Before then, it feels like Williams is treading water, padding out the book with extra words (her novels do come in rather long). And even then, there’s not enough to keep us focused on a core thread, so the pacing continues to stutter and stall its way through.

I love Williams skill at character creation. She constantly creates interesting, unique characters with their own very particular character quirks. But this is also one of my major issues in The Bitter Twins. Vintage is a very well realised character, but her quirks of speech are irritating in the extreme. Even in the heat of battle, she insists on referring to other characters (even enemies!) as ‘dear’ or ‘dear one’. And if that weren’t irritating enough, Hestillion’s pet name for her war beast is ‘sweet one’. Quirks of speech like this, I find, are particularly difficult to get right. Not used often enough and they make no impact but used even slightly too much and they make me eye-roll with every instance. I had a similar issue with Joanne Harris’ The Gospel of Loki.

While many of the characters have fascinating depths, I find that many of Williams’ villains could do with a little more fleshing out. Despite spending a good deal of time on the Jure’lia, their motivations are still somewhat fuzzy. Beyond their behaviour being portrayed as a part of who they are, some kind of biological imperative to expand and a desire to connect, it isn’t explained as to why they feel the need to take over Sarn. Their reasons for acting too often feel like ‘because that’s what they do’ – the problem I have with a lot of undercooked superhero films these days. I want a villain with a motivation that is compelling and understandable.

Verdict: While the worldbuilding is, as always, original and well-drawn, The Bitter Twins fails to live up to the high standards set by Williams’ first fantasy trilogy.

‘The Bitter Twins’ is book two in ‘The Winnowing Flame Trilogy’ by Jen Williams. This is her second trilogy of fantastic fantasy novels. Jen Williams is one of my very few auto-buy authors and, anything she writes, I will buy. So apologies if this is just a gush review about how much I love Jen Williams’ books, you have now been warned!
The synopsis to this book will contain spoilers to book one. ‘The Ninth Rain’. so please do not read any further if you haven’t already it. OK, so here we are with a bunch of war-beasts who have no memory of what magnificent animals they were before, along with a load of non-Eborans trying to train them.
To be honest, this is going better than they anticipated but then things start to go wrong as they often do in these situations. Meanwhile, the ancient enemy, the war-beasts, are meant to be able to fight are growing stronger and slowly destroying swathes of the land. This book feels like it kicks off pretty soon after ‘The Ninth Rain’ finished so we’re picking up from that massive cliff-hanger ending, thank goodness!
As usual, in a Jen Williams book, we get multiple POVs so we can see the story progressing from a lot of different viewpoints. This is one of the things I really enjoy about her books, but it also drives me mad when you sometimes just want to follow that one character who is doing something interesting and then you have to read a bunch of chapters that are also really interesting but you just want to go back to that one character.
The second thing I love about Jen’s writing is that she is just so easy to read, which is a bit of a miracle for many fantasy books. There are no massive info-dumps of high political intrigue, there aren’t a million different characters who all blend into one, you just get enough information and enough people to interest you without terrifying you as a reader.
Jen really does put her characters through some rough times and not all of them make it through so try not to bond too much with them, this is impossible by the way you will bond and you will cry. Jen writes such well-rounded characters and they all have an interesting and believable back story which is told throughout the book (see no info-dumps here). There is such realistic banter between everyone as well, it just feels real not forced at all just something you would hear between any given bunch of friends. I honestly think that Jen’s characters are what makes the books, don’t get me wrong, she also has great plot and pacing but you read these books for the characters first and foremost or at least I do.
Talking about Jen’s characters she is all about the inclusion in terms of different colours, disabilities or abilities, genders, and sexualities. But she manages to do this with a light hand not shoving it all into your face at all. Many of her characters also have mental health issues as well, which I thought was interesting given that in most fantasy books terrible things happen and everyone seems to come out the other side completely fine. There are people with PTSD, etc in this book showing that these characters are really realistic and believable.
One disappointment is that this book does suffer a little from middle book syndrome in that not a huge amount actually goes on, even though it does keep the reader entertained. It’s certainly not boring but you just get the impression there is a lot of set-up for book three here. We get a lot of information about other places in this world as a lot of the characters go their separate ways, which is interesting but I wasn’t sure exactly where these stories were going in terms of the main plot.
Overall, I will keep reading books by Jen Williams as long as she goes on writing them, I just love them and I wish more people would also start reading them and enjoying them, too.

It's going to be hard to write my thoughts - one because no spoilers and two, when a story is in your bones, where do you find the words to express how you feel ...

With Hestillion aboard the corpse moon with her stolen silver pod; Vintage in Ebora; Bern and Aldasair in Finneral; Tor and Noon on a quest to find the mysterious island depicted in Micanal the Clearsighted’s memory tablet, there’s plenty to get involved (and absorbed!) in throughout The Bitter Twins.

The war-beasts are missing a vital connection to bond them together resulting in fighting among themselves and ignoring commands. And they’re still learning what they are capable of. The fighting had my whole body tensing up, I guess not trusting them but also with the power of the Jure’lia Queen, how could they come out on top? Jen Williams’ descriptions of the war-beasts meant it was so easy for me to visualise them. Vostok and Kirune were the perfect foil for each other, their personalities adding another dimension to the story as characters in their own right.

I am fascinated by the Jure’lia but at the same time repulsed. I started out disliking the Jure’lia Queen intensely but I felt Hestillion tempered some of that darkness. In any case, seeing everything through Hestillion’s eyes gave me greater understanding of ‘her’ motivation. Hestillion is another interesting character. I was never quite sure if she would ultimately make sacrifices for her own or whether she would be the enemy. I’m still not sure …

At times I felt such despair, there are just so many challenges and betrayals for all our characters to overcome. I must admit to being heartbroken at what happens to one of the new characters and I don’t think it’s the last we’ve seen from new character Tyranny. Noon, Tor, Vintage and now Aldasair and Bern have found a place in my heart. If thoughts could keep them safe!

I tried to work out what a particular thing meant to the story as a whole and I so enjoyed it when I got that ‘lightbulb’ moment 🙂 It seemed to lessen my fear. I had no idea the ‘Poisonless’ was coming though, such a shocker! And Ebora’s creation myth …

Jen William’s takes world building to a different level entirely. In my review for The Ninth Rain I said:

Once again, the world building from Jen Williams is awe inspiring. The different tribes and the politics, fell-witches, Eborans and their history is seamless. The settings are amazing – in Ebora, Sarn, the Wild, and the Winnowry.

There is such depth to the different cultures, their customs and rituals. What a creative mind she has! Where does she get her ideas! So magnificent.

Obviously the Winnowry is going to factor in The Poison Song and I’m itching to get to the final story.

If you enjoy fantasy or sci-fi, don’t miss The Winnowing Flame trilogy. It really is outstanding.

This review started one way, initially written when I had only read half of the book. I thought I'd come far enough in the book that I couldn't be shook by the second half. Well that was quickly shot to pieces. So here is my rewritten extended review of The Bitter Twins!

I went straight from reading The Ninth Rain into this book, literally finishing one and pulling the other out of my bag, and so it feels like I have been on one long journey that I'm itching to continue. The Ninth Rain was very much a journey book and here we are immediately in the aftermath of the not so ideal situation that went down at the end of book one. This second instalment however is in many ways a history book, both in the sense of trying to connect to our past and of our present forming its own history constantly in every action our characters make.

Having journeyed so long with these characters I feel a part of them, and have that itch that you get in multiple perspective books to find out whats happening to one set of characters when you're in the perspective of another. This set a great pace for the book which only elevated the further you got into it, where I'm constantly being given just enough that I need to keep reading on even if its suddenly 1 am and I need to be up for an early morning meeting... I was flying through parts, sadly not literally, absorbing it like a sponge the more invested and angry I became.

Sarn feels larger and larger the more I read it, which probably sounds very stupid, but with each new chapter you get these small pockets of information constantly helping to layer up the different and individual personalities the cities have. This is a real strength in the writing, helping not only the construction of the book in my mind but my investment in it. Though we journeyed across Sarn in The Ninth Rain the multiple perspectives here allowed us to travel even more and I loved this exploration of new territories and how you got to understand the characters better through their presence in their place. I'd quite like a trip to Finneral now...though without any Behemoth remains please.

The characterisation is what really made the book. There were so many personalities and emotions here but that wove so well together. Each person had their time and their place so that no one felt sidelined and yet everyone was spotlighted because as in life everyone was affected by everyone else around them whether they liked it or not. The depth to this book! We have our main protagonists that we fell in love with; Noon, Tor, Vintage who you have deeper connections to and you feel like you know ( who wouldn't want to hang out with Vintage and go exploring!) who are now joined centre stage by newer members Aldasair, Bern, Eri and we get to prod into the dark hive-mind of the Jure'lia. You really wanted to slap the queen, but your hand would probably squelch into a pile of goo and no one is here for that. These characters who were starting to come into play in The Ninth Rain really come int force here, I love the soft temperament of Bern and his connection to Aldasair and I keep internally shouting at them to do something about it. Bern had this presence and this force and there was a beautiful passage where he spoke about his feelings and how love is just love and I was cheering. It made me love his character more. And can we just talk about Eri and Helcate. You need a lovable character, one who you want to hug and protect and here you got two! I loved their scenes, there was such a vulnerability to them and this constant question of what's going to happen..don't you dare let anything bad happen to them! They also really grew within book, especially when you;re faced with a situation like Helcate where you;re not what is expected of you and this was a powerful theme that ran through the book.

History in an interesting subject because it is seen and carried and effected by each concerned party in a completely different way. People say history is written by the victors, but it is felt by everyone and letting go of a past when its thrust into your present is not easy, but trying to cling to one that you don't understand or remember is almost harder. I loved, or maybe cared about is a better term to use for the plight of the War-beasts having been born early and out of need, but having no connection to their past (except in the case of Vostok) and the effect this had on them. I felt so bad for them, trying to find an identity and a shared one at that is such a complex issue, especially when someone is there trying to force it down on you, and it made me so irritated by Vostok, even though I could see each animals perspective. Their pairing with their companions and how they reflected their personalities was such a beautiful link, I love anything like this, it gives me the tingles and I wonder what manifestation my war-beast would take. There was a beautiful resolution to this in the book and i'm interested to see what they take from how and how this changes, in what I'm going to call The Final Battle, which I am eager to get into.

This is, as is stated in the book, a time for change, a time where the old laws don't hold up anymore and a new dawn is rising, just hopefully not in a corpse moon. All the roles here have been fliped and this is a great platform for whats to come. What will happen and what will the effect of CrystalGate be? I'm excited to find out.

Check out the rest of the stops on the blog tour, grab your copy get reading and let me know what you think..as I will do as I keep reading!

Last year I was really impressed with the start of this epic fantasy series from Jen Williams. Continuing the trend for delivering excellent casts of (largely female) characters, great dialogue and fast paced action with a pleasing mix of SF within a standard fantasy world with the return of the off world Jure’lia and setting up a battle between magical beasts and spaceships. Now the second part of the Winnowing Flame Trilogy asks the question what happens next?

So, the action bursts from the start with a group of the insect like Jure’lia launching their many different components mercilessly on a village to be stopped partially by our heroes who have started to bond with the war-beasts including a feather dragon and a flying giant cat. It’s not a simple battle even though the Jure’lia are weak from being asleep and injured for many centuries. The war-beasts while strong largely don’t have the skills and honed ability they usually have upon erupting from their eggs and their choice of riders isn’t going smoothly easily either. They’re not a team and this can mean lives are lost. So eventually Tormalin and Noon are sent on a mission to try and find out if there is a way to find the war-beasts lost memories while back in Ebora the remainder of the team are themselves split between assisting a village in need and trying to guard the remaining treasures and war beast eggs within the palace.

As always with Williams the characters are a highlight. We have the new war beasts making an impact from Vostok the Dragon who remembers the old times and believes they are the one who should be in charge to the more independent large cat Kirune who is not entirely pleased he must bond with Tor. Each have their own personality and either complement or antagonise their host. This is a novel where we see relationships build or even burn from Tor and Noon’s uneasy romance to Vintage finding that her returned Eboran lover Nanthema is not quite the woman she remembers and also a reminder that she too is no longer the young woman they last were too and then finally the blossoming relationship between Bern the warrior and Alasdair the seemingly absent minded Eboran slowly coming back to the world he has been hiding from. The emotional interplay between these characters is what really propels the story and you’ll be invested into how they continue to change, and can they survive.

This time the book is also keen to explore the history of Sarn including the relationship between the Eborans and the Jure’lia. Tor and Noon’s journey takes them to meet ancient legends of Ebora and find a sinister side hiding in paradise. On the Jure’lia’s main ship Tor’s sister Hestillion is debating whether she made the right choices while she too now has a rather weak War Beast Celaphon to look after. This allows her to watch how the Jure’lian Queen works and she finds they are cooking up even worse monsters to bring about the end of the world. Further battles commence and this time not everyone can survive…

There is a sense of many ancient factions now colliding and going to be settled once and for all. The one issue with the tale is that it has set up what looks like a truly epic final volume to come but you are conscious that is the middle volume and doesn’t always feel like a complete adventure but ultimately that is a key part of epic fantasy trilogies. But I suspect most readers will be more than familiar with William’s ability to deliver great characters, progressive societies and interesting world so if we must read another book to understand the bigger picture I don’t consider that a hardship!! Overall, another strong entry from one of our most interesting British fantasy authors and by the way did I mention it still has giant bats?

‪The Bitter Twins by Jen Wlliams https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/blog/2018/5/7/the-bitter-twins-by-jen-wlliams‬

http://www.speculativeherald.com/2018/04/13/review-the-bitter-twins-by-jen-williams/
https://lynns-books.com/2018/04/16/the-bitter-twins-the-winnowing-flame-trilogy-2-by-jen-williams/
The Bitter Twins is the second instalment of Jen Williams’ Winnowing Flame Trilogy and is an excellent second in series that demonstrates William’s ability to create a richly woven world, full of history and religion and characters that are a delight to read and fall in love with.

Before reviewing The Bitter Twins I would point out that it is necessary to read the Ninth Rain first. The story picks up immediately after the conclusion of No.1 and there is no recap of previous events so if you haven’t read the first book then I strongly recommend you stop right here, don’t read this review, simply go and pick up the first book. The other thing that I would mention is that this is a book that is a little difficult to review without giving away spoilers for the first book or indeed for the content of The Bitter Twins so I’m really going to avoid discussion of the plot and limit my review to the writing, characters and world building.

Once again the story brings our favourite characters to the table. Lady Vincenza, or Vintage, again plays a key role. Not to be deterred by her lack of either magic or super strength Vintage isn’t prepared to take a back seat but once again manages to find herself in the thick of things. Finding herself at the heart of Ebora and with her long missing love interest returning to the scene Vintage has a few harsh truths to face, not least of which is her own mortality and the knowledge that whilst she has physically aged her lover has not. What I love about Vintage is she brings her own brand of upbeat realism to any situation. She’s intelligent enough to be able to work things through sensibly and resourceful enough to not panic when faced with danger. Alongside Vintage we share a few moments when all the characters are briefly reunited before they split into different groups each with important quests. Noon and Tormalin go in search of ancient knowledge that might assist the war beasts who are suffering from memory loss. Their adventure leads them to discover an archipelago of small islands some of which are more dangerous than first glance reveals. They go in search of artifacts but instead find much more uncovering an astonishing revelation regarding Eboran history and finally coming to terms with their feelings for each other.

Aldasair and Bern have their own mission which involves a good deal of drama and the discovery of Hestillion aboard the Corpse Moon. What a storyline this is. I read it in mounting disbelief. I wanted to shout at Hestillion and at the same time I just couldn’t believe half of what I was reading. Hesillion what are you thinking? I can’t say more other than that this is one of those parts of the story where you can’t but help be riveted to the page and your horror is only matched by your desire for the character in question to snap out of it.

We have the addition of a number of other excellent characters. Eri, a young Eboran boy who has been living in seclusion and the arrival of a group of characters that seemed to have their own agenda. Again, I’m amazed at how well developed all of these characters are, they may have secondary roles and in some cases not much page time but I felt myself really caring for them.

What really surprises me again and again with Williams is her ability to make you love her characters. Even the ones that you only briefly meet or are newly introduced to – they’re just so very well drawn and display all sorts of emotions that make them jump off the page with anger, passion and self doubt. It’s easy to fall for these characters and it makes the switch between different storylines incredibly easy to to enjoy because each story is equally heart wrenching.

The other thing that totally blows me away about Williams writing is the way she is able to create such an amazing world using both fantasy and science fiction to give it a different twist. It reminds me a little of Anne McCaffrey who also conjured remarkable worlds by marrying epic fantasy with science fiction to create something incredible. It gives the world such a wide range of possibilities.

In terms of criticisms. I would mention that I thought the first half of the story was a little slower in terms of pace, of course this really helps in terms of character development and also in forging relationships that are believable but be aware of this when you start. I find, and I think I mentioned this when I reviewed the Ninth Rain, that the plot isn’t really the main focus of the story, which isn’t to say the plot isn’t good but just that there’s such a lot of depth, not just to the characters, but to the world itself.

There’s a lot of history explored in this instalment and some of it I think will have a big impact on the final book of the series. And then of course there’s the conclusion – which is a thrilling, action packed ride that really packs an emotional punch. I didn’t see some of that coming and it really hit me I must confess.

The Bitter Twins is an excellent second in series, it may have had a measured start but the tension steadily grew and eventually culminated in an explosive finale. And, of course, no review would be complete without mentioning the war beasts. Such magnificent creatures, I absolutely love them.

If nothing else, I hope I’ve convinced you to read this series. This review feels a little light on information but that’s simply a reflection of my desire not to give away spoilers. Put simply, if you love epic fantasy you simply have to read The Winnowing Flame trilogy. It’s an absolute must read series.

I have been really looking forward to reading this, having loved The Ninth Rain, and Jen Williams certainly didn't disappoint with this follow-up. It tells the continuing story of Tor, Noon, Vintage and the rest as they attempt to combat the Jur'elia while trying to restore Ebora to its former glory. The characters are really given the chance to develop in this second instalment, and once again, Williams has introduced some diverse people into the fray. We are shown more about the history of Sarn and the Eboran people, which was fascinating and as per the first book, this is definitely continuing the genre bending. I thought that the first half of the book was a little bit more sedate pacing-wise and then the second half was absolutely page-turning gold! There are some great plot developments here and I really like the progression of Hestillion, who is perhaps the most intriguing character of the bunch. Williams is fast becoming one of my favourite authors in the genre - she is breaking some really interesting ground and I for one will now be waiting (not) patiently for the conclusion.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

THE BITTER TWINS

Over at STARBURST Towers we’ve grown rather fond of Jen Williams. The Copper Cat trilogy was hands down one of our favourites. We were delighted that The Ninth Rain, the first book in her new series, The Winnowing Flame Trilogy, was just as good. The Bitter Twins carries on this cinematic and rapidly paced tale of invasion, lost empires, mythic beasts and weird histories.

The world of Sarn is under dire threat. A great evil has awoken; the Jurelia are an alien-like race of invaders who consume everything in their path and poison all that they touch. In the past, these monster have been driven back by the pale and super-strong Eborans, a race of long-lived and decadent beings with access to their own magical riding beasts. Alas, the last time the Jurelia came they were almost defeated, but at great cost. The Eborans are in decline, their capital city all but abandoned, many of them killed by diseases caused by their own hubris. As The Bitter Twins opens, we have a weakened (but no less deadly) Jurelia invasion force and a rag-tag band of heroes, made of humans and Eborans, who are the only ones who can stop them.

The book splits into various subplots. One is a quest for more resources (which doubles as world-building exposition), one deals with the growing power of the Jurelia and the rest flesh out the growing war. The main problem with all this is that events seem to take place pretty close to the end of the previous novel and the story covers quite a short window of time. We get the feeling of growing menace but without any stakes. Despite a few shocks and twists, the whole story feels like it’s biding its time for some sort finale and we don’t really get one. There are some key scenes that are very thrilling and some nice new characters introduced, but the villains all feel a little too predictable. It’s notable that one of the most interesting new characters is also the least erudite. Part of this is the split focus. For example, the character of Vintage (a lady explorer who doesn’t fit into any easy stereotype) has a great story about her lovers growing disenfranchisement and confusion; yet we don’t quite see enough of it to care. Same with the other relationships; Williams writes really cool characters and yet it feels like none of them gets enough screen time.
This is, of course, middle-book syndrome and it’s understandable. Set-up it may be, but the thrills are thrilling and the story is still pure fantasy fun. The Ninth Rain set up a great world and The Bitter Twins just felt too short (despite being pretty hefty). It’s all to play for in the final book and as always, we look forward to it.

THE BITTER TWINS / AUTHOR: JEN WILLIAMS / PUBLISHER: HEADLINE / RELEASE DATE: MARCH 8TH

The Bitter Twins picks up just after The Ninth Rain left off, in terms of where we find our characters and just how much trouble they're in (yes, all of it, naturally). It's an epic sequel as war breaks out, with each side still far weaker than they'd like. Expect more unusual quests, some spectacular action sequences, plenty of opportunities to shout HESTILLION WHAT WHY NO and a slow build to a thought-provoking climax. The pacing is measured, but Jen Williams does a brilliant job of drawing out the tension - this is very much a book that had me on the edge of my seat wanting to yell advice at beloved characters as they made terrible decisions or failed to spot threats creeping up on them. It makes for a very satisfying read and cemented Jen Williams as an author whose books I will read and recommend without a second thought. Can't wait for the third (and final) instalment.

For starters, if you’ve picked this one up without having first read The Ninth Rain, then put it right back down again and rush off to get hold of the aforesaid first book in the series. It took me a while to get into this one, because I don’t reread books and as The Bitter Twins picks up more or less where The Ninth Rain left off, I was frankly floundering. If I hadn’t read the first book in this series, I think it would have taken me far too long to sort out who was doing what to whom to fully appreciate the writing and the story.

However, once I was back in the groove – this one was a joy. The characters are nuanced and three-dimensional, so that our gutsy heroes and heroines have flaws and weaknesses, and even characters we have written off as wrong ‘uns are capable of selfless acts. I loved the storyline regarding the origins of the Eborans, which worked really well and nicely mirrored what is happening on the Corpse Moon where unsettling transformations are taking place.

One of the recurrent themes within the epic fantasy genre is the role of history and how it defines people’s own identity within their culture and race. Williams treatment of this theme in this series is an interesting one, overlaid as it is by the insertion of another genre and how that both plays with and subverts the idea of cultural identity, particularly by the Eborans, who are teetering on the verge of extinction. As the inferior race, the human protagonists within the story have their own baggage and, in some cases, scores to settle. My favourite character is Vintage, the delightful human scholar whose insatiable curiosity has hauled her right into the middle of the current mess.

I don’t want you to go away with the idea, however, that this book spends pages discussing or worrying about the above, as it’s all about the adventure and such considerations are fully embedded within the plot. Events are moving fast, threats abound, and our intrepid band of protagonists are constantly having to react to yet another sticky situation. The pages flew by as I found it hard to break off and get on with the growing stack of chores – so I didn’t. After all, this was a Jen Williams read – which means it’s something special. While I obtained an arc of The Bitter Twins from Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
9/10

Please note, before proceeding any further, The Bitter Twins is the second part of The Winnowing Flame trilogy. If you haven’t read part one then it is likely this review may contain something akin to minor spoilers. Don’t say you weren’t suitably warned!

The Ninth Rain has fallen, the Jure’lia have returned, and with Ebora a shadow of its former self, the old enemy are closer to conquering Sarn than ever.

Tormalin the Oathless and the Fell-Witch Noon have their hands full dealing with the first war-beasts to be born in Ebora for nearly three hundred years. But these are not the great mythological warriors of old; hatched too early and with no link to their past lives, the war-beasts have no memory of the many battles they have fought and won, and no concept of how they can possibly do it again. The key to uniting them, according to the scholar Vintage, may lie in a part of Sarn no one really believes exists, but finding it will mean a dangerous journey at a time of war…

Meanwhile, Hestillion is trapped on board the corpse moon, forced into a strange and uneasy alliance with the Jure’lia queen. Something terrifying is growing up there, in the heart of the Behemoth, and the people of Sarn will have no defence against these new monsters.

Over the last few years, Jen Williams has firmly established herself as a genre author of note. The second book in The Winnowing Flame trilogy reinforces once again why, if you haven’t already, you really should be reading her work. Fantasy has a tendency to sometimes get bogged down in endless unnecessary detail. Some readers relish that, but it’s not for me. I want a story that delivers a sense of wonder, of perilous adventure. A dragon or two is always a nice added bonus as well. The Bitter Twins delivers that and more

I’m not going to dwell much on the plot for this review. You need to discover that yourself. Where I think Jen Williams’ writing excels is with her beautifully judged characterization. It doesn’t matter if they are human, Eborean, war-beast or something else entirely. Without exception, all the characters are fully realised creations.

Those amongst you who read my review of book one, The Ninth Rain, will not be massively surprised when I tell you Lady Vincenza ‘Vintage’ de Grazon remains a firm favourite. She is a wonderful mix of adventurer, absent minded professor, fussy mother and strict but well-meaning headmistress. Vintage can disarm with a withering glance and if that doesn’t do the job, she’ll break out her trusty crossbow instead. Fiercely loyal, endlessly inquisitive and hopelessly optimistic beyond measure, she is exactly the sort of person that others are instinctively drawn toward. Everyone needs a friend like her in their corner.

The growing relationship between Alasdair and Bern the Younger is tentative and delicately handled. Having two characters find one another in the midst of a crisis, when they could be ripped apart at a moment’s notice, has the potential to be utterly gut-wrenching. I don’t think I was quite prepared for how emotive it all got. I’ll admit there are some moments in The Bitter Twins that caught me right in the feels*

A large chunk of the narrative separates the cast into smaller groups, and I like this approach. Tormalin and Noon head off on one quest, Alasdair and Bern on another. Meanwhile Vintage, Nan and a young Eboran called Eri have to try and hold together the fractious little band of survivors who are attempting to mount some sort of resistance against the Jure’lia. These sub plots give each of the characters the opportunity to shine.

There are some intriguing new characters as well. I particularly liked Tyranny Munk. Her backstory sounds like it could easily be a novel in its own right. Maybe if we ask really nicely one day that will happen? That would be awesome.

Elsewhere there are chapters that follow Tormalin’s sister, Hestillion, as she continues to move away from her Eboran heritage. Sometimes I find villains can be a little flat when it comes to fantasy. They’re all “I’m conveniently evil because the heroes need an adversary”. In the case of The Bitter Twins that statement could not be further from the truth. Hestillion remains angry and resentful of just about everyone and everything. The Jure’lian queen has seized upon all this rage and twisted those emotions within Hestillion, corrupting her entirely. Williams deftly picks apart all the conflicting facets of the character. What motivates the choices that Hestillion has made? Is there any going back after the terrible things she has done? This novel gives us an antagonist who is relatable and has genuine depth.

You’ve probably spotted by now, I could waffle merrily about the characters in The Bitter Twins all day. Hell, I’ve not even mentioned the war-beasts yet, they deserve an entire review for themselves. Vostok, Kirune, Jessen, Sharrik, and Helcate are wondrous creations.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Ninth Rain. I’ll admit I think it set the bar pretty high for any potential sequel. I needn’t have worried though, The Bitter Twins more than meets and exceeds that challenge. Existing characters evolve, new characters are introduced and fit seamlessly into the narrative. The scope of the overarching plot develops in unexpected and engrossing ways. It’s a winner at every turn.

Musically, I felt the hauntingly evocative soundtrack to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Blood and Wine by Marcin Przybyłowicz, Mikolai Stroinski and Piotr Musiał was a perfect fit with The Bitter Twins. Jen Williams paints a picture-perfect fantasy landscape so it needs a suitably awe-inspiring score to accompany it. Trust me, they are a perfect fit.

The Bitter Twins is published by Headline and is available from 8th March. Highly recommended. I can’t wait for the final book in The Winnowing Flame trilogy, it is shaping up to be something uniquely special.

*Apologies, nothing worse than a middle-aged man trying to use that hip slang that the kids use…Well, I assume they still use it. They no longer return my calls. Damn them and their Instagrams and whatnot.

Usually I would post the synopsis for the book with a little disclaimer for spoilers. However I'm not going to do that. I don't want to give away anything about the ending of The Ninth Rain, nor where we start The Bitter Twins. That's better left for you to discover.

What I will say is that The Bitter Twins takes us back to the aftermath of the events of book one. Where stakes are high, a lot of questions are in need of answering and I just want to drink more wine than Tormalin- which, is a large feat to beat.

As much as I love reading these great big tomes, I get really restless as a reader. I could be absolutely sold to a story and bitterly attached to the characters but no matter what, I'll start getting frustrated and pick up another book.

The entire time I was reading this I was enthralled, engaged with the direction the author was taking it. I would read for 10 minutes between an assignment, put it down again and find an excuse to pick it straight back up again. I even stopped playing Dragon Age: Inquisition to read it!

The plot, although thoroughly engaging, is a slow burn, but it is Williams' dialogue and characters that makes her books worth every moment you're invested. Her characters are in a way family familiar. They're odd-balls that I wouldn't have any other way, as they go through their own personal journeys. We see how as the as the plot progresses, they to, change in a believable and justified manner.

Dialogue is something I mentioned in my review for book one, the bar already set too high I thought it would be impossible to maintain it. Williams' obviously disagrees and surpass that bar I internally set. The events of The Bitter Twins, is rather dark and hard to read, yet Williams' has found a balance with her characters' interactions and banter that keeps you reading. Lightening the mood without taking away from the events in those 600 pages.

It is Williams' blend of traditional classic fantasy and sci-fi that pushes The Winnowing Trilogy into a grey zone that gives this book its edge. It's fantastically executed and just works!

Ever since I first read the Copper Cat trilogy, Jen Williams has been one of my favourite authors. It is no surprise then that I was very eager to read her next series - The Winnowing Flame trilogy. The Ninth Rain, being the first book in the new trilogy, lived up to my expectations, becoming one of my favourite books of 2017 and instantly propelling it’s follow up onto my most anticipated list. So when I was given the chance to be part of this wonderful blog tour I jumped at it and wasted no time in reading this second book.

The Bitter Twins starts off shortly after the events of the first book, and I will not go into details (not even gonna post that spoilery blurb) so as to keep this review spoiler free for those yet to start the series (DO IT NOW), but suffice it to say that the stakes are sky high, there is much hanging in the balance and the characters we have come to love as well as some new ones that we are introduced to, are walking a knife’s edge in trying to survive the terrible events that have been set into motion.

The plot is a scrumptious slow burn and features a well loved fantasy staple - the quest, which was a lot of fun to follow, but apart from that the author continuously caught me off guard with the direction the story went in and even had me wondering for a moment if I was reading a science fiction or fantasy novel! While the steady pace might leave some wanting (not this reader), the story is filled throughout with both exciting action and emotionally charged moments as it sets up everything for a wonderfully wild climax that had me squeezing the life out of my Kindle from sheer tension. Yes, it answered a lot of questions, but it asked even more of them and there is plenty of mystery left for the final book in the series.

Dialogue is once again excellent and delivers the delicious banter that always permeates the pages of a Jen Williams book, bringing humour and fun to counteract the vivid, nightmarish horrors that she extracts from the darkest corners of her mind to stalk the pages and haunt our dreams. *shudders

It is of course her characters and the way they worm burrow work their way into your heart that stands out the most for me. Noon, Vintage, Tormalin, Hestillion, Aldasair, Bern, Eri, Vostok, Kirune, Helcate, Jessen, Celaphon, Sharrik - somehow they feel like family, which I is apt looking at the themes throughout the book. Apart from her adeptness in conjuring up these endearing characters (and let’s not forget the loathsome ones as well,) Williams is of course brilliant in exploring relationships and she displays this to full effect in The Bitter Twins, always striving to give us a better understanding of everything that makes her characters who they are and what they aim to be. I feel that words such as complex and diverse are the order of the day and almost a default when I think about her characters, and as such I want to stray from the norm and use different ones, but, well, there is a reason they are so often used and that is because they just fit perfectly! I cannot say enough about it, but delving deeper will once again expose me to possible spoilers and I want to leave new readers with the chance to experience it all for themselves. So let me summarise that character development is of the highest echelon. I have become so caught up with how much I love the characters, that I have almost forgotten the worldbuilding which is so layered and thorough that it just blends into the story seamlessly, from the rich and evocative history of the Eborans and Sarn, to the mystery of the Jurelia. There is a vast world left to mine here in terms of stories untold, and I would not mind it one bit to spend many more books here.

Thinking back on everything that happens in the book, I am astounded that Jen Williams managed to fit it into one volume. This is a warbeast of a middle book in terms of content, and it delivers all the way, setting up the series for a gripping finale that cannot come soon enough.

"Get ready, my darlings. We are going to f**k them up."

The Bitter Twins is a perfect sequel to the Ninth Rain - it took me places I did not expect in the least and surprised me continuously with it’s fresh storytelling, humour and exciting, genre-bending plot. Jen Williams, more than anything, writes fantasy with heart, and I could happily read her books forever.

On a final note, I must mention that the last book is called The Poison Song. What a beautiful title. I am already dreaming up how gorgeous that cover is going to be next to the already stellar artwork gracing the first two books of the series. *rubs hands in anticipation

I was given the chance to read an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My first impression, in attempting to review this book, is how seamlessly the story transitioned from the end of The Ninth Rain and into The Bitter Twins. The opening three chapters work brilliantly; first, Williams gives the reader what they want, the answer to the cliff hanger from the previous book. Next, we're introduced to a new character whose situation is mysterious and intriguing; before finally bringing in the main characters we fell in love with in an action packed sequence. There are gentle reminders in this third chapter of events from the first book, which normally I dislike in books that are parts of series; but this was done so subtly that it took me awhile to realise it was a reminder. It's a fantastic opening to a book; appeasement, followed by intrigue then action, and it really prevented me from resurfacing after the immersion of the first book.

I felt the writing wasn't as polished as The Ninth Rain, there were one or two instances where the continuity left me a little confused; for example there is an instance where the characters are in a room but next they are seemingly approaching a wagon in a courtyard. The edition I read was an e-book acquired through Netgalley, downloaded back in December, so I look forward to rereading a physical copy and seeing if there is a difference. These instances were rare and not at all typical of Williams' other writing.

The second book in a trilogy is always tricky, it runs the risk of being merely filler; an inconsequential stepping stone to The Final (read: best) Book. The Bitter Twins managed to avoid the usual pitfalls. There were new plot elements that expanded the story and gave it a purpose to continue, yet it still felt like a progression of the same story and not something completely different. There were new characters who brought new layers to the story, without detracting from the previous characters or shifting focus away from them; Williams' character portrayal is masterful and as ever there is such depth and range of emotion to these characters. You feel like you have come to know them intimately and yet on the next page they still surprise you; Williams doesn't always give the reader what they want and this is certainly true of her characters and their moral ambiguity.

There was so much in this book to give the reader pause for thought. The bonds we make, through families and relationships, and the affects such bonds have on our motivations and actions. What brings us closer. How far we can stretch them. What finally snaps these bonds altogether. Questions of origin and faith, and the crumbling foundations they're often built upon. Exploring myths, how truths twist into legends and the consequences of forgetting, of not learning from the past. 

I keep trying to return to the book to read more, forgetting that I've finished it. I'm still caught up in it and I find myself missing the characters, wanting to hear their voices again. I cannot wait to discover where Williams will take particular story lines, there is so much left unanswered, drawing you on to the final book. As I mentioned in my review for The Ninth Rain, there is evidence here that Williams has carefully crafted and planned this story to reach across the three books; a different approach to her previous writing, but one that is very successful in its execution. The fact that the narrative flows so beautifully, the plot driven so perfectly, is testament to her skill. What's more, Williams is able to blend quintessential fantasy (axe-wielding warriors, elven-like characters, witches and dragons) with sci-fi (alien races and space ships) into a deliciously boundary blurring, genre breaking tale. She makes it feel so natural and yet it is something completely fresh and diverse to my usual fare. 

And now for the agonising wait for the final installment...

What an ending! The great thing about Jen's books is they never go where I expect. The characters were spectacular (almost had a blub at a death near the end) the story evolved and changed making this fantasy novel completely Jen's own. So good. Now bring on The Poison Song!

The sequel to the brilliant Ninth Rain kicks it up a notch with more action, scarier monsters and a more expansive story.

There's also a more desperate feel to the story now. The Jure'lia have returned, their ruins are waking up and piecing themselves back together and Hestellion has been kidnapped and taken aboard the Corpse Moon. The War Beasts have also returned but there are only a few of them, they have hatched too early and apart from the dragon bonded with Noon they don't have their memories of their past lives. They don't know how to fight and they certainly don't know how to work together. How can the four of them possibly stop the Jure'lia from wiping out all the human settlements?

The monsters are creepy and visceral and make my skin crawl. The Jure'lia Queen is terrifying! Hestillion is very brave when she is taken hostage by the Queen, then they start to find common ground and Hestillion's influence makes the Queen act more and more like a human. I think that just makes her even scarier! In this book, her story has become my favourite. She's conflicted and unsure really of what she is doing, and whose side she wants to be on.

I loved everything with the War Beasts in! They were born without their memories and are not what they should have been. They find it difficult to get on with each other and they struggle to build themselves into a team, working against each other more than with each other. It brings a lot of humour into the book. Then the action scenes where they fight are just awesome.

A few different plot threads are woven together and there's so much going on another author might have taken 3 or 4 books to cover all this. Mostly it works and it makes an action-packed story but some parts seem to become a little lost in the action. Bern's visit to his family and Eri's story could fill whole books by themselves.

Noon and Tor are trying to find a way to make the War Beasts into a fighting team. They find that an Eborean might have kept records of the War Beasts past lives but he left Eboaria hundreds of years ago on a journey searching for the origins of Ysgeril. Noon and Tor are so desperate to get the records and help the war beasts that they decide to follow his route.

I just love Jen Williams' writing. She creates such complicated and diverse characters and the world she has created is rich and unique. She's not afraid to write adult stories that can be dark at times; the ending is heartbreaking.

The Bitter Twins is an imaginative and original story with a cast of complex and diverse characters. Modern fantasy at it's best and I cannot wait for the third book in the series!

I enjoyed The Ninth Rain a lot. The characters were unusual for epic fantasy, and the world was intriguing, so I am happy to report that The Bitter Twins maintains this standard. It really is a good read, with strong character relationships that you will care about, some excellent action sequences and a nice line in sarcasm. That said, it's hard to review as a standalone book. A plot breakdown would spoil the first volume, and with the third as yet unpublished, it'd be rash to look too far ahead. It's very much the middle volume of a series, with the standard tropes of our heroes splitting and going on different far flung missions, and while the climax is certainly exciting, there's an awful lot left unresolved. It is great fun while it lasts, however, and I reckon the finished trilogy will stand as one of the best of recent years. Bring on the third volume!

I feel the only way to review this novel is to completely avoid anything to do with the plot. Not only because there are massive spoilers headed in that direction (and one ought to experience The Ninth Rain without any spoilers), but because it's one of those novels that builds so well on what came before and to discuss that now would be to take away from what should be a fantastic reading experience. So instead, I want to talk in general about what this series does so well and why you should read it straight away (and then agonise with me over when the final book comes out).

I love the worldbuilding in this. It's intriguing and layered, it has implications for something far greater than what's initially presented. This starts off well in the first book, but it's built on even more in The Bitter Twins, exploring new angles, cultures and parts of the world. Sure, the book has a lot of revelations about the past, about Ebora and Sarn, but really, the most standout things, to me, were the ways in which Williams portrayed the variety of cultures and peoples that make up the world. Mythology, religion, belief, they are all key themes of the novel and I genuinely felt that everything was done without lengthy exposition, letting you piece it all together.

The characters themselves come alive on the page and for all that there are some clear good guys and bad guys, Williams doesn't just leave it at that. Vintage, we know from the first book, is very much on the side of knowledge and compassion and learning, but in The Bitter Twins, we see a side of her that feels bitterness and heartbreak. Without spoiling events in the second book, I was intrigued to see how she comes to terms with everything, not least of all her own age and mortality. It's a book about the choices these characters make and the consequences of those choices, but also about the feeling of inevitability that accompanies momentous decisions. Who hasn't felt regret at making a particular decision, who hasn't felt that once the decision is made, the only way forward is to keep on making that same choice again and again? Seeing that doubt, that confusion, that wavering, really humanises all the characters in this book. I like that Williams allows them to fail and solve these problems - the solutions are never easy or straightforward, the issues are not resolved by deus ex machina either.

What really shines through though is the relationships that Williams fosters between their characters. Whether it's love, family or enmity that drives them, they are all complex, diverse and interesting. I like the way backstories are revealed, in small increments, in ways that are far-reaching, even if the characters don't immediately see that. But I also like the interactions between all of them, the small moments of tenderness, the humanity of all of them. Williams, like Pratchett, is able to tap into the well of depth and humanity that exists in all of us and expose those dark corners of our mind, but also the infinite love, empathy and determination that we can be capable of. There are romantic relationships and familial ones and they've changed and morphed from The Ninth Raid, as people come to terms with revelations about themselves, sometimes not always for the better. Change is difficult, but it's also necessary and Williams portrays this in ways that really hit right at the core of what it means to be human (or not).

If Williams' humans are very reminiscent of Pratchett, then the weird and the horrific has far more in common with China Miéville's Perdido Street Station - the eldritch horrors that permeate this novel are so foreign, so alien, that I could feel their nastiness over my skin like a film. Like the moths in Miéville's novel, the monsters of Sarn are terrifying precisely because there is now something of a humane face on them. The big bad gets a voice, so their actions are all the more terrifying and visceral. The creatures are the stuff of nightmares and at time, it reminded me of everything that I found strange about the Borg. That hivemind, that oneness and connection, that single-mindedness, they're all here in the novel, shown from different angles, making you think that perhaps you're seeing this through warped perspectives. The sense of unease that permeates the book is one that stayed with me long after I turned the last page.

What started with The Ninth Rain continues with The Bitter Twins and for every question that is answered, another one pops up. However, I still found it an incredibly compelling read and I would thoroughly recommend that you immediately buy the first book so you can read this one too. As for me, while I wait for the third instalment to come out, I think I'll finally pick up The Iron Ghost and finish the Copper Cat trilogy.