This is the second book in the "Destiny's Embrace" series but can be read as a stand alone book too. The novel continues to follow Synne as she relocates to Dublin from England following her marriage to Magnus. Her healing powers are increasing but are both a blessing and a curse as healers, whilst sought out for those unwell are also persecuted when things take a turn for the worse. Synne travels in both Ireland and Engand searching for her two sisters and tries to negotiate and survive life as a woman during brutal times following the Norman conquest when the situation is turbulent and there is a clash between those who revere the old gods and those who seek to impose Christianity as the state religion.

The novel is fantastically well researched. I learnt so much about how life changed following the Norman Conquests, a period of history that doesn't get studied at school. The details made me research more about this period after finishing the novel. I'll definitely want to continue reading about Synne and her family.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for permitting this book to be a Read Now to help members develop their Feedback Ratio in exchange for an honest review.

Review Summary:
Following on a year or so after the events of book one, The Power of Synne follows our main character as she navigates her relationship with Magnus in their new home of Dublin. Events transpire that leave her travelling around both Ireland and England in search of her lost sisters, Tate and Gytha. Unique to the first book, we also follow Tate and Gytha in their own points of view. Gytha is seen travelling to France, Germany as well as England. All three sisters must survive perilous situations to try and find each other, and reunite as their mother always wanted.
Positives are that there was plenty going on in this book, more than in book one. The points of view of the three sisters added an extra layer of characterisation that was lacking a little previously. The cut-throat world the women are in is captured very well, the author not shying away from brutality and betrayal. The feelings of desperation and hopelessness were often harrowing to read.
The negatives are that some aspects of the story started to become quite repetitive, with the same things happening multiple times just in different places. The romances in the story still feel quite flat and occasionally don't make an awful lot of sense, feeling like we are being told what the characters are feeling rather than experiencing them through action and dialogue. While the characterisation was definitely stronger, it still felt underdeveloped.

3.5 stars for still being an engaging and well-researched story but being repetitive in parts and still needing some development in characterisation and romance writing. There was also a noteable change in this second book as the writing style completely differs, it honestly felt like a new writer had taken over. The unique, short/choppy and somewhat anxious style in book one was completely abandoned and this book took on a more modern prose. I'm undecided whether I think this was a good change or not because I did enjoy the quirky style of book one however the improvements in book two may have happened due to the updated approach.

FULL REVIEW BELOW. AVAILABLE WITH THE ADDITION OF HIDDEN SPOILERS ON GOODREADS.

World-building:
We continue to explore England in this book as we did in book one but we also get to explore Ireland, Germany and France as we follow the three sisters. There is more emphasis on developing the world of the Seers and the 'old ways' in this installment with all three sisters being accused of harbouring their mother's gift. There are more charms, premonitory dreams and rituals which builds on the spiritual feel of the last book. We are also shown the brutal world of slave trade, meaning there are quite a few trigger warnings needed for this installment. This book develops the culture of England now that it is being ruled by the Normans and the hostility it brings within the country itself and in its relationships with neighbouring countries. One detail I did find a little confusing was the casual mentions of homosexuality in the story. In one particular scene two male guards are described as having 'hands more for each other than for me'. I'm no expert on this time period but as far as I knew homosexuality, while it undoubtedly existed, was seen as henious. So I was surprised it was mentioned so nonchalantly as if the guards, who were Christian, weren't afraid of being caught.

Characterisation:
In the beginning of the book it felt we were really starting to see Synne's personality develop. Her interactions with Magnus in particular showed us that she was passionate and fiery but still holds deep-set loyalty and affection for those she cares about. However in the middle section of the book her personality development seemed to dull a little as the narratives of Gytha and Tate became more prominent, which was strange as a lot was going on for Synne in terms of the Seers. Towards the end she became more interesting again, showing bravery and more confidence in herself and her abilities. She also became quite desensitised to violence and at one point it is implied she is developing a 'blood-lust' however this scene was a little bit confusing and contradictory. We finally get a description of her appearance too! This whole time I believed she was blonde but it turns out she is 'raven-haired', while Gytha is a red-head and Tate is a blonde. Tate is a strange character for me in this installment. Similarly to Synne she is quite brazen and bold with her tongue, oftentimes leaving you wondering how she gets away with some of what she says. But she is also quite resentful towards Synne and sometimes contadicts herself by downplaying and dismissing Synne's potential powers while also being demanding of them. I found her to be a bit of a useless character for most of the book and sometimes it just seemed she was there to make Synne feel bad about herself. Gytha on the other hand is my absolute favourite character. She is brave but in a less spoon-fed way than it feels Synne is written sometimes. She is soft-spoken and kind-hearted but manages to survive some dreadful situations without losing who she is. Her naivety lessens throughout the story as it is taken advantage of over and over again, meaning her development felt very organic and genuine. Magnus feels very different in this book as his relationship with Synne changes, but overall he still feels like quite an underutilised character for me who could become likeable if he was developed more. When they are together it is obvious that he is Synne's comfort person. She becomes more bratty as if she knows she can get away with it and can put away the harsher, more mature exterior. There are a lot of villains going on in this book, with Odo returning but also a lot of slave traders and slave masters. It does become difficult to keep track after a while as to who is who, as some of them are Kings or Kings sons. A character named Yann becomes a friend but he feels a little boring to me to the point I don't understand why such loyalty is thrown his way. Another friend called Ambr is much more interesting and really cunning to boot. There are some romances and a love triangle present in this story, but both felt a little out of place for me and seemed to arise from next to no interaction.

Story:
The story is predominantly the three sisters searching for each other across several different countries. There are a LOT of capture and escape sub-plots, to the point they become a little repetitive and don't feel as if they move the main story along very much. The middle section shows some development in Synne's exploration of the Seers and the last section takes us back into the political upheavals of the Anglo-Saxons versus the Normans. I did start to lose track of a lot of the villains, especially as a lot of them would then continue to pursue their victim and re-appear further in the book by which point I had forgotten who they were or where they were from. I am hoping the third and final installment of the trilogy will work to tie up the loose ends, some of which are still present from book one but weren't mentioned very much in book two, and focus more on the overriding main plot than being delayed with repetitive sub-plots.

Prose:
The prose felt a lot more modern in this installment compared to book one, with longer flowing sentences. A couple of times modern colloquialisms were used again, which felt accidental. When Synne asks if her horse is okay, Magnus replied 'he's good', then the word 'weirdly' is used later on which again felt a little odd when more archaic language had been used throughout. We even had 'a**' and 'sh*t' in there which definitely weren't present in book one. However book two did feel easier to read due to the more rhythmic flow of the sentences compared to the choppy short sentences in The Rise of Synne.

The second book about Synne the healer is as good as book one. I enjoyed the accurate account of the details of how life was after William conquered England. A very violent way of life for both men and women as well. I loved the way Synne fought for her life and in what she believed. Being both a woman and a healer (maybe a seer as well) was a very dangerous way of living. I was again fascinated in the religious side of the novel: the old gods and superstitions proved indeed difficult to forget even though Christianity was and had to be the official religion. A very entertaining novel which can be read as a standalone but I definitely would recommend the first book as well because it is equally good. A great read!
I received a digital copy of this novel from NetGalley and I am leaving voluntarily an honest review.