Reign of the Seven Spellblades, Vol. 2

Actual rating: 3.5★

Similarly to the first volume, I find this hard to rate due to the plot and pacing. For the most part, this second volume is rather slow and driven by characters rather than story. The overarching plot revealed at the end of the previous volume didn't go anywhere in this one. It was just slightly mentioned at the beginning, and then the rest of the book is spent exploring various character issues instead. This obviously brings the main plot to a halt, so if you're more interested in that than the characters, you might find it a little dull as our main cast go about their days choosing brooms, setting up their workshop, and exploring the labyrinth. It's for this reason that I rounded the rating down.

If you're more interested in the characters, however, you might find this book more interesting. While the first volume focused mainly on Katie, in this one we learn more about Pete and Chela. Pete is opening up a lot more to Oliver after an unexpected self-discovery, while Chela has to deal with some family issues. That being said, they're not exactly facing an urgent issue that needs immediate solution like Katie did, so the subtlety of their growth felt a little lacking after all that happened in the first volume.

Overall, this second volume feels like it's still laying the groundwork for what's about to come. The problem is the previous book did a better job at maintaining engagement while doing that, and it really doesn't help that the action scenes in this one felt oddly detached and analytical. Still, the three-on-three battle in the last chapter was quite fun. We even get a cliffhanger at the end, and since a major conflict finally rears its head back in, hopefully the next volume will be more fun to read.

I really hope they will link back to the main plot soon, because that's the main attraction of this series for me. More magic academy life and less labyrinth exploration would be nice too.