After helping save the world from bad fey in the first book, Effie - herself half human half fey - tries to save the treaty between fey and humans.
There is of course opposition that plays unfair and must be stopped, and there is still one of the bad fey on the run. Effie has become kind of a legend around Scotland, but she still has to work hard to convice people to support her cause.
I liked the setting in Victorian Scotland, even though some of the steam powered machines sounded really weird. Effie slowly learning more about her powers and getting really frustrated with not having the chance to learn from expirienced people sounded way more true than the learning process in some other fantasy books I read.
I'm really curious for the next book in the series. ( )

This was a potentially interesting but flawed read. I recommend checking it out if you are interested in stories about fey, you like the idea of a story set in Victorian Scotland, or if you enjoy thoughtful female characters in fantasy. Starting with the first volume is probably a good idea.

Reading it as part of the Early Reviewers Program, I had not read the first volume, which meant that I was a little confused about some of the previous events and world building. However, it was clear that the setting was interesting and carefully thought out. I really enjoyed the combination of fey and historical Scottish setting.

The beginning of the book lags a little. The plot seemed lacking in urgency, and I set it aside a few times for a week or two before getting back to it. However, once one of central crimes/mysteries appears, the pages start to fly by.

Fantasy can be a funny genre, because it contains both books where the main characters are the most important characters in their worlds... and ones where the main character is just an everyday person, perhaps with some exceptional abilities, making their way through life. Most of this book is in the second mode, but we are constantly told that the main character is important to others, and the conclusion of the book tries to have a more legendary scope. I thought that the ending felt rushed and the attempt to make it 'legendary' lost some of the personal feel of the rest of the book. One additional way that this fell flat is that the main character is simultaneously seriously committed to a cause... but aimless in how she supports this cause. Perhaps her legendary status in this book would feel more natural for readers of the previous volume. ( )

This is a continuation from book one, which I would recommend reading first.

Story of the struggles for the fey and humans, and with difference comes intolerance that can dangerously escalate. Effie belongs to both worlds, and yet is also alone. She is faced with the challenge of trying to bring peace and remain alive throughout her quest.

Loved the Scottish setting and attention to detail. ( )

Better than the initial volume with fewer inaccuracies, and a more developed plot. The Whiskey error remains highly annoying though, especially when one of the characters asks for bourbon - never even produced in scotland, let alone drank by anyone. I gradually accepted the steam vehicles unlikely and improbable as they are, but the author's lack of understanding regarding airships is lamentable. Why on earth would they carry a boiler with them? Utterly bizarre.

Fortunately these are mere details. Effie remains resolute and headstrong, other than when she's being fickle over affairs of the heart. Having decided that her former paramour is insufficiently dedicated to her cause, she abandons him, and resolves to go alone. However very quickly she finds her mentor has provided a bodyguard for her, a bulky improper gent capable of mixing in any company. Meanwhile she needs to act promptly to save the treaty she was instrumental in organising, otherwise the Fey will have no rest from persecution anywhere. But before she can even begin she realises that the third malevolent Fey released in the last book, is still out there, poisoning all that she wishes to achieve. ( )