The Spirit Rebellion

Can we talk about the book covers of this series for a second? They are so... romance novel. The only reason why I realised this was supposed to depict Miranda was the ring on her finger. Otherwise I wouldn't have guessed. I mean.... kinda medieval books with women in totally modern appearance are one of my book pet peeves. These books deserve much better covers. Seriously.

Especially because I actually enjoyed this instalment much more than the first. Not sure if it was my different mental state, the books getting better, me starting to actually connect with the characters, but I really enjoyed this. Was it a brilliant book, a true achievement of literature that opens up a whole new world in fantasy? Nope. But boy, it was such an entertaining thing. I really liked it.

Eli and his group get news of an impossible to rob castle in a ridiculously wealthy part of the world. What do they do? Pffft, of course they try to rob it, partly because as a favour in exchange for help for Nico, partly because Eli's ego can't take the idea of not being able to do something.
At the same time Miranda gets fucked over majorly, which makes her end up in the same place, all of them having to fight off the dictators of the most pleasant place ever.

The action was really fun in this, especially for someone who grew up watching shounen anime. You know, ridiculous power ups, epic fights, the power of friendship and will. It all just felt like all those childhood moments of “ahhhh, the hero is bleeding out because of some mysterious big bad, but he will have some flashback/dream sequence about poetic shit and the strength of having to believe in yourself, so he unlocks a new power that allows him to win”. This was full of that kinda stuff.
Again, it definitely is not the highest class of writing. If you didn't grow up with that, I have no idea how you will like it, but to me this was awesome. After a hard week, finishing this was an awesome way of relaxing and having a good time.

As expected, now I'm starting to be closer to most of the characters as well. Eli is ridiculously full of himself in a kind of charming way. I mean the guy just can't be tamed, he is smooth, he will chat himself out of everything, with humans or spirits. Josef is super tough, rough, really disciplined to give contrast to Eli and at the same time be entertaining even just by himself. Epic fights as well. Nico is the creepy child, she's always 2 seconds away from losing the control of the demon living inside her. She holds a lot of potential for the future books, it's obvious she will have to face her issues sooner than later.
Aaaaand we have Miranda. Not gonna lie, I find her a bit too much of a perfect girl and a brat. She does care about the spirits she controls, which is nice. She's honourable. Not a bad person, really, but she is magically the most greatest and most talented person ever, with the greatest potential. With a super interesting background, being part of a cool organisation, I kind of expect more from her than “this is so unfaaaaair”.

So, I want more of the Spiritualists. More of Banage. More of any of them that is not Miranda. The world is slowly opening up in the series and I want much more of that. If Miss Aaron can build on that, then this has the potential to be even more entertaining, even if not the most inventive thing ever. Where the first book was kind of small scale, it's all feeling much more complex and alive now. I approve.

Basically, I just want more. More of the smaller characters. More of the lore. More of the main trio (sorry, Miranda), more spirits, more countries, more everyone. More creepy white lady being super powerful and having a lady boner for Eli.
I have a feeling that especially that last part can go much darker now. What happens when a lady who doesn't understand NO wants to keep around a guy who would probably drop dead if he ever did anything other people told him.

Really, this one managed to surprise me a bit. I didn't expect it to make me be so excited about reading it. I definitely need to get more of it. Perfect for when I feel completely drained and stressed.

Have a nice day and don't judge a book by its cover!

Apart from the obvious flaw that all the characters come together again, this book was as well written as the first one. Rachel adds a twist of how a wizard can control spirits without enslavement and we get to see more of the Great Spirits. Eli is but a second fiddle here and while we get a glimpse of his beginnings there seems to be more of his past we are yet to uncover. Especially given we know who his real father is (not talking about Monpress) I wonder when that angle will come into plan. All in all a quick and easy read and recommended to fans of the series.

I liked this much better than the first book. Better pacing and a lot more character development.

Having read book 2, the first book almost feels like a prologue and in that context I like it better.