I said I was reviewing the first in the duology in preparation for reviewing this one, and I’ve finally gotten around to it! I adored this book so much, and I’m so honoured that I was able to participate in the bookstagram tour for this one. You can find my post and mini-review here.
Set months after the first book, Ferius has been living with Durrall and Enna. She was learning the way of the Argosi, but after making a mistake, she ran away. Now she’s stumbled upon a mysterious curse known as the Red Scream. With the help of an Argosi her own age called Rosie, she tries to hunt down the person spreading it.
Like with the original Spellslinger series, this book was so much better than the first. We no longer had the skipping over time, and that meant that the story felt more complete. Ferius was still pretty angry, but we also saw more of the charm we know and love her for. I really enjoyed her portrayal in this book, but she wasn’t my favourite character.
Binta was.
The kid was completely adorable, and the end for him had me squealing. Obviously, he isn’t mentioned in the Spellslinger books, so now I really wanna know what happened to him. He’s basically Ferius’s little brother, and I loved their relationship so much. You see them learn about each other and change to help the other, and just… it was precious. I’m a sucker for a found family, and this was perfect for it.
I did think the magical curse in this was interesting. It felt so different to the magic used in the first book, but both are clearly in the same world. Everything did work together and made sense, but it did feel like something completely new.
Obviously, I’m going to have to jump back into the characters to talk about Ferius and Rosie’s relationship. It’s been a while since I read the Spellslinger books, so I couldn’t really remember their relationship. But I really enjoyed seeing them meet and get to know each other. Their romance may have been brief, but I didn’t mind that because the reason why it doesn’t work completely makes sense. I really want to go back and reread the Spellslinger books now so I can see how they interact in the future too.
A seriously good book and I need more Binta.
5/5 Stars
Title: Fall of the Argosi
Author: Sebastien De Castell
Genre: Fantasy
Age Range: Young Adult
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Release Date: 14/10/21
BUY LINKS
Lace and Dagger Books 