Golden Dunes of Renhala by Amy Joy Lutchen
My rating: 3/5 cats
RENHALA!!!!!
i was very glad to read more about the world of renhala, having enjoyed the first one so much despite it being paranormal romance/urban fantasy, which is a largely unexplored genre for me. this second book in the series was a mere 191 pages to the 462 of the first one, so it’s a much smaller story in scope, and i liked it only slightly less than the first one, so that’s why the three stars cats, because it makes sense in my head to star cat-rate within the bigger-picture of an author’s work.
but it’s a good story, and i would definitely recommend it to people who like urban fantasy, because it is way better than my other experiences within the genre, as limited as they have been.
this one mostly takes place in renhala itself, instead of chicago/renhala, so maybe “urban fantasy” is the wrong term, but i’m still gonna use it.
all the (surviving) beloved characters from the first book are back, and she does a really good job reminding the reader of the important bits of the first book, which is something i appreciate; both the refreshers themselves and the skill of doing it so it doesn’t bog the story down with reminder-exposition. it seems elementary, but few authors do this well.
the central story to this one is great—it is almost like a little alternate-dimension-mystery novel, and i was genuinely surprised by the outcome. i would try to give a synopsis, but since this takes place in such a highly-detailed fantasy realm, i think it would just be confusing, because you would all be going “what the hell is a sudo-abominor??”, and “what’s a greble??” etc, so it’s probably best to just talk about the things the book does well as a book.
the world-building in the first one was amazing, and it continues here. there are new creatures (HOOLIES!), new mythologies, but with plenty of carry-over from the first book, ending on a situation which invites future adventures.
the characters are also well-rendered and complex, especially kailey, who has become a host to a force that makes her…difficult to be around, and she is forced to battle both with it, and her own baggage from the first book. she straddles the hero/antihero line the whole way through, and it’s a tricky thing to pull off.
as for the stuff i liked somewhat less. again, i don’t read in this genre, so my minor quibbles are probably quibbles i would have with the genre in toto. but when you have a healer in your cadre, it kind of undermines the tension of a book; if the aftermath of every battle can be repaired without too much difficulty, the battles themselves lose their urgency. and it’s not failsafe—people do still die in renhala, but fewer than should. me, i like consequences and suffering, so healers feel like cheating me outta my good stuff.
and here’s where i am going to contradict myself from my opinion of the first book, because i am allowed. and it involves the love triangle. i know what i said in my first review, that i would have chosen the other fellow. and in this one, the love triangle shifts again, and the characters have been somewhat changed by circumstances, and i find myself in the other camp entirely. can’t win in a love triangle, is the takeaway from this.
but those were my only gripes. and the tease of a short book after such a huge one, but it’s probably for the best, considering how far behind my reading-challenge i am. i love renhala, and i will be back for more.
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