Book Review: The Spirit Rebellion

The Spirit Rebellion (The Legend of Eli Monpress, #2)The Spirit Rebellion by Rachel Aaron
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I came to this book without reading the first in the series, but it was immediately easy to follow and enjoy the fast-paced story. I’ve wanted to read a novel by Rachel Aaron since I came across her brilliant writers’ blog and how-to-guide, ‘from 2k to 10k’.  Could writing at speed really result, as she claimed, in compelling stories and flowing prose, or would the speed show up in the form of poor plotting or sloppy style?  Well, since coming across The Spirit Rebellion (book 2 in a series featuring the incorrigible thief Eli Monpress), I have my answer.  Despite the very occasional typo, The Spirit Rebellion is a superb story, well written, and I would have been proud to have produced it at any speed.

Eli Monpress is an entertaining character: a roguish wizard with a penchant for befriending waifs and strays, and accumulating priceless artefacts. Miranda, apart from being a Spiritualist, is more of your average girl-next-door type, and she’s not too happy about finding herself thrown into the midst of Eli’s chaotic way of life, especially when it leads to her expulsion from the Spirit Court, to which she’s dedicated her life. When Eli’s latest theft and Miranda’s new job bring them both to the Duke of Gaol’s citadel, they are thrown together again in a quest to vanquish the tyrannical ruler of the region.

Their quest pits them against some fearsome adversaries, and the book is peopled with an unlikely but fascinating cast of characters, including a demon-possessed girl, the West Wind, and Eli’s adoptive father. There’s never a dull moment in this high-speed adventure, and I’ll definitely be looking out for the rest of the series.


View all my reviews

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Halloween Blog Hop

Image
Halloween is a great excuse to dig out Nightmare Before Christmas and all my favourite spooky stories, so my contribution to the Halloween blog hop is, in no particular order, my seven favourite magical books (or series - a sneaky way of not quite having to narrow down to seven books) of all time. How many have you read? Follow the hop for more fun, great books, and awesome prizes.  And make sure to read to the end for a chance to win a sneak preview of a magical collection, as well as a hop-wide prize draw for $50 or $100 in Amazon gift cards.   Tamora Pierce: Alanna (Song of the Lioness series) Along with 'Little Women', this is one of my most read books ever.  The story of a girl in a magical land which, sadly, reflects our own in having certain expectations of how boys and girls will behave.  Alanna doesn't want to be a lady and learn to dress prettily and walk nicely.  She wants to fight the bad guys, and both she and her twin Thom are gi...
Read more

Writer Wednesday Interview: Nancy C Weeks

Image
Today I'm delighted to welcome Crimson Romance author Nancy C Weeks to my blog.  Hi Nancy!  When did you first know you wanted to be a writer? I think I have always wanted to be a writer but never thought it was something I could do. Honestly, I didn’t believe I was smart enough to write a book.   I don’t know why I had so little faith in myself. When I meet people now and hear my words coming out of their month, “OH, I could never write a whole book,” I give them a hug ― because I’m a big hugger — and tell them that they sure the heck can write a book if that’s their passion. How did you come to start writing Romantic Suspense? Since I love reading the excitement of romantic suspense almost as much as I love the romance, I decided to begin my writing career in that genre. I throw an element of supernatural into the suspense to add to the conflict and tension. ‘In the Shadow of Greed’ has both paranormal and hi-tech aspects to it – what did you do to r...
Read more

Why I love my publisher.

I've been away from my blog for a few weeks, for a few reasons, both technical and otherwise.  What better to return with than a celebration of my wonderful publishers?  The Wild Rose Press is about to turn five years old - a ripe old age in the still-fresh world of e-publishing. There are e-publishers and e-publishers, and The Wild Rose Press is definitely an e-publisher to be proud of. Not only do the folks at The Wild Rose Press publish great stories (and no, I'm not only saying that because they published my e-book, Desperate Bid and made it available on Amazon too - they publish loads of great romances, including some by the wonderful Rachel Brimble and Rae Summers ). They also make a point of giving lots of help and feedback to new writers.  Their blog Behind the Garden Gate is a must-read if you write romance, or are curious about what goes on behind the scenes at a publisher.  Oh, and they're really nice people too.  This post about Agonis...
Read more