3,5 stars.

Ysolda and her sea hawk are back. The concept and the action are delightful as in the first book.

My favourite character is the Wolf Queen, because of her complexities and dimensions.

My 9yo child loves Ysolda.

She faced many and different challenges this time, and we delved more into the world of these series.

The best age group for these books is 12 to 15, in my experience. 5 star for them.

The prose 3,5 stars
Plot 3,5 stars
Characterisation and setting 5

I’m not an impulsive person. I like to know just what I’m going to do, how I’m going to do it and when but just occasionally, something will pull me up and make me change my plans. So it was when I spotted this new title, the second in the Geomancer trilogy from author Kiran Millwood Hargrave, on Net Galley and not giving it any real thought requested it, without knowing anything about it.

Figuring I could catch up on the events of the first in the series, which is now very firmly on my list of titles to read, I bumped it straight to the top of my reading pile when I was lucky enough to receive a swift approval and went on to spend several hours lost within its pages. Exquisitely written, and full of mystery, magic and exciting adventure, this is a fabulous read that has left me with a huge book hangover and desperate for more as I journeyed with protagonist Ysolda on the epic quest that she started in In the Shadow of the Wolf Queen.

Following the events of that title, Ysolda finds herself travelling with her pet hawk Nara and the Wolf Queen’s daughter, Eira, through the vast ocean on the back of Eira’s wolf, Ravi. Reaching land, the party – together with servant Sami who has been accompanying them by canoe – look around at their strange surroundings and Ysolda thinks about her painful separation from sister Hari, who is being held by the Wolf Queen.

After spending the night in a makeshift camp, the group set off on their mission to reach High Place at the top of the Drakken Peaks, in pursuit of the mythical Anchorite but face enormous challenges along the way. As she gets closer and closer to her destination, Ysolda discovers that not everyone that she thought was an ally can be trusted and meets friends and enemies, old and new, as she searches for the magic of the Geomancer. With challenges, both human and magical, to overcome that will bring her face-to-face with her own mortality, can Ysolda make it to the High Place and if she can, what does fate have in store for her there?

This is such a rich and complex novel – written by an author who does not talk down to her readers or dilute the events contained within it to make the content less brutal or shocking at times. As the narrative progresses, it is soon clear that Ysolda’s quest is not one that is to be undertaken without the most enormous effort and when she finds herself in danger, it is not easily overcome, setting the book apart from many aimed at the audience this is intended to reach.

Ysolda is a strong and bold heroine, who is determined to complete her mission and utterly focussed on doing so, no matter what the personal cost will be. Intelligent enough to realise that she needs the assistance of others, she is desperate to trust those around her but is aware that not everyone is on her side, leading to personal conflict at times as she debates how much to share of what she knows with those around her and what her next steps should be.

Would I have enjoyed this more if I had read the first book? Possibly, as I’m sure that there is much to be gained from reading it and I most definitely will now that I’ve read this, however everything that is needed to catch up with the events from Book 1 is included and within a few chapters I was as engrossed in this as I might have been if I had come to it after reading that title. I thoroughly enjoyed this – it is a wonderful fantasy and one that will have enormous appeal to fans of the writer’s other books or confident readers of 9+ who are in search of something a little more adult, for want of a better word.

Publishing in hardback on 29th August this is a fabulous title, one for which I would like to thank both publisher Hachette and Net Galley for my advance virtual read.

In this second book of the Geomancer trilogy, there is enough adventure, magic, travel and danger to satisfy the most demanding reader. Despite not having (as yet) read the first tale in the series, I really enjoyed the story.

With a band consisting of a giant seawolf, a princess with a mind of her own, and an injured servant in tow, Ysolda and the others will have their work cut out navigating their way successfully through the wilderness leading to the Drakken Peak. At least she can rely on her faithful hawk, Nara! Yet by the end of the story, this unlikely group of misfits will learn to fit together more effectively than they ever thought possible...

Hargrave is marvellous at worldbuilding, and the creativity demonstrated with respect to the storytelling in this book is very impressive. Ysolda's surroundings are brought vividly to life, and the adventure itself is all the more exciting for it.