#BlogTour: "Reign of Mist" by Helen Scheuerer: The Fast-Paced Sequel To "Heart Of Mist"

§ I received a copy of this book to review but I was not financially compensated in any way. The opinions expressed are my own and are based on my observations while reading this novel. §

After Bleak's escape from the King's Army, she sails into the mist and finds herself ship-wrecked in a strange place. Things become when she learns that she is in Oremere. It turns out that Oremere is not just the long lost continent that had been hidden in the mist in order to protect the Ashai. Years ago things took a turn for the worse when Ines came to power through a brutal coup and started a reign of terror. She weaponized the mist - making into a deadly weapon - and she has the unique ability to use other Ashai's powers for her own. Thus, she seeks the strongest and most precious Ashai to make their powers hers. In order to achieve that goal, she works together with King Arden who hunts the Ashai without remorse.

A few Mist Dwellers survived and they have a plan to bring all of these horrors to an end and they can use Bleak's help.

"Reign of Mist" is the second part of the Oremere Chronicles and while "Heart of Mist" mainly introduced you to the characters and the workings of the realm, this book offers action piled on top of action. It is fast paced and a lot of things happen in the span of the book.

Given the amount of events that had happened, I thought that I was already well over the half-way point but when I looked at the percentage it only told me 39%. You'd be a fool to believe that this means that the book drags on or becomes boring. Scheuerer manages to keep up the fast pace. In fact, I am hard-pressed to find a part that had been boring or slower.

Furthermore, the lose threads of first part all start to come together here. All the main characters meet at some point and they're seemingly - knock on wood - on the same side, and work towards a common goal. This would not have been possible, if it weren't for the beautiful character development: Bleak is the best example as she starts out as a hopeless and boarder-line depressed person who just let's things happen to her because why bother and by the end of "Reign of Mist" she turned into a strong personality and leader.

Bleak's character development is followed closely by Swinton's - Bleak had changed slowly over the course of two books, while Swinton had always struggled with a part of himself and finally finds motivation and courage to acknowledge it. This wouldn't have been possible, if it weren't for his brother from another mother: Fi. Their friendship is one of my favourite aspects in the series - it really showed how deep it goes in "Reign of Mist" and I enjoyed reading every word of their plot: the heartbreak, the trust, the insecurity and the joy.

What I hated - read: loved - the most was the ending of "Reign of Mist." My eyes were already wide and I couldn't wait until the next chapter to find out what would happen now. Only to tap the side of the screen and end up in the Acknowledgements section.

"What?!" I screamed through the flat, and got up from the sofa. "You can't let it end THERE!"

Scheuerer did. "Heart of Mist" wets your appetite, however, "Reign of Mist" leaves you starving for more!

I am hard-pressed to find any negatives about this book, for me, it felt like the perfect fantasy read with great characters, relationships between them and a page turner that you do not want to put down!

""Reign of Mist" sounds brilliant, do I have to read the first part though?" I hear you ask now.

The answer is yes. "Heart of Mist" introduces you to the world of the Oremere Chronicles - which is a rich world full of politics, magic, characters, and relationships that you won't be able to understand without having read it. "Reign of Mist" does not re-introduce you to the concept of the Ashai, thus you will be left confused unless you read "Heart of Mist." If you are curious a full review of "Heart of Mist" is available here.

Reign of Mist	by Helen Scheuerer
Published	2018	by Talem Press
Series:	The Oremere Chronicles	#2
Goodreads:	Add to shelf
Buy on:	amazon.de	amazon.com

Want to learn more about Reign of Mist, and ask your questions?

Then join the twitter chat with Helen Scheuerer hosted by @bookshelfbitch on Twitter!

... which questions keep me awake at night when thinking about the third book?

Almost all of the wishes I had for "Reign of Mist" have been fulfilled with the exception of "maybe dragons" but we got panthers instead which are cooler. So after the initial shock of the ending had worn off, I started to ponder on what I want for the third book:

At the moment, it looks like I can pretty much forget my Gay Happy Ending. I hope against reason that there is still a possibility left. In the end, I want a satisfying answer to Athene's plans and if she really has been playing all the time.

I feel I need to say this now: if the third part goes in that direction and makes one half of the only queer couple evil, turning the relationship a scam - cue: Psycho Lesbian. Even if we are given a satisfying explanation, I fear that I am going to rant a bit because it is the only acknowledged queer couple - compared to three straight ones - but they have to be f*cked up.

Then I'd like to see more of Princess Olena's awesomeness while further exploring the depths of the friendship between Fi and Swington.

What really itches me the most is the knowledge that the next book should the last of the trilogy and I am curious about how this whole mess - and oh boy, it is a mess - is going to play out!

ABOUT HELEN SCHEUERER

Helen Scheuerer is a YA fantasy author from Sydney, Australia. Reign of Mist is the second book in her high fantasy trilogy, The Oremere Chronicles. After writing literary fiction for a number of years, Helen was inspired to return to her childhood love of fantasy thanks to novels like Throne of Glass, The Queen’s Poisoner and The Queen of the Tearling.

Helen is also the Founding Editor of Writer’s Edit (www.writersedit.com), an online learning platform for emerging writers. In its first year, Writer’s Edit reached thousands of new authors, and soon became its own small press, with Helen overseeing the production and publication of three creative writing anthologies, Kindling Volume I, Volume II and Volume III. It’s now one of the largest writing websites in the world.

Helen’s love of writing and books led her to pursue a Bachelor of Creative Arts, majoring in Creative Writing at the University of Wollongong. While the Kindling books were being published, Helen also completed a Masters of Publishing at the University of Sydney.

Helen now lives by the beach and writes full time. She has many more books planned for the future.

Find her on:

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