Book Tour: THE SECOND SON review + favorite quotes

Thank you so much to TBR and Beyond Tours for allowing me to take part in this tour for The Second Son. This book being part of a tour was what finally pushed me into reading the first book in this series! So fair warning, it is a sequel.

 

     

About The Book:

Title: The Second Son

Author: Adrienne Tooley

Pub.Date: July 16, 2024

Find it: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and IndieBound.

An epic clash of deities explores the two facets of pain — rage versus sadness — in this rousing conclusion to the Betrayal Prophecies, a dark crown fantasy duology with a sweeping sapphic romance.

The centuries - old prophecy has been fulfilled at last: the New Maiden has returned to Velle. Unfortunately, so has a malicious demi - god, whose elusive prophet is intent on c onverting the New Maiden’s followers. The Second Son is a vengeful, angry deity, whose psalm resonates with the disenfranchised.

With Elodie on the throne and Sabine in her own unique position of power, it should be easy enough to track down the culprit. Y et even as they’re falling in love, both girls are keeping dangerous secrets from each other. While the cult of the Second Son threatens to overthrow not only the Church of the New Maiden but also Velle’s monarchy, Elodie and Sabine must navigate impossibl e odds to dismantle the root of his power, all while their lives hang in the balance.

Content warnings: descriptions of anxiety and depression, depictions of self - harm, parental death (off - page), parental neglect, physical abuse at the hand of a parent, re ligious trauma

 

Review:

This might be a very sparse review because I am trying very hard to not spoil anything in this book or the previous one.

The world in this book was definitely intriguing. The way that Adrienne Tooley built the world and wove in the worldbuilding was just fascinating. It was a book that was serious at times, but was also fun at other times. The author had a nice balance between worldbuilding and dialogue that allowed for me to feel immersed without feeling overwhelmed.

The romance in this book was a lot sweeter than I was expecting it to be. I'll admit that I came off a non-romance book so I was a bit worried about this book. Romance in fantasy books can be hit-or-miss at times. But the romance in this book just worked really well for me. I enjoyed it a bunch!

I have mixed feelings about this book. I really wanted to love it and I did find it to be interesting, but it struggled to hold my attention. Something about the author's writing style just didn't mesh well with my brain at the time. I hope others love this book the way I wish I had.

Favorite Quotes:

"Someone I don't have to pretend to be nice to."

"And what would you recommend?"
"Not to get too comfortable."

"That feels a bit soulless."

"That our story must end this way."

 

 

About Adrienne Tooley:

Adrienne Tooley (she/her) was born and raised in the desert suburbs of Southern California. She grew up in the theater, earning her B.A. in Musical Theatre from Point Park University. She and her wife currently live in New York City with their puppy, Kit (short for Biscuit). She is the author of Sweet & Bitter Magic as well as the Indie Next List selection Sofi and the Bone Song. out now from S&S/McElderry. In 2023, she will publish The Third Daughter, the first in a duology from Christy Ottaviano Books/LBYR. In addition to writing novels she is also a singer/songwriter and has released several EPs which are availab le on Spotify & other streaming sites. You can find her on her website, Instagram,Twitter, and Goodreads.