Entombed in Glass
Stacey Rourke
(Unfortunate Soul Chronicles, #2)
Publication date: March 29th 2018
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Mirror, mirror on the wall.
What’s behind that fated call?
He’s the seer of present, future, and past,
Yet remains a nameless face entombed in glass.Raised as a servant in the underwater kingdom of Atlantica, Alastor worked his way up to a regal member of the Royal Guard. Only as a decorated soldier did he stand a chance of winning the hand of the woman he’s loved since childhood … Poseidon’s onlydaughter, Princess Vanessa. But, when the war against humans rages, dark magics areevoked to give the mermen a fighting chance. Temporarily granted legs, they charge from the sea into a doomed battle.
Doing the bidding of his masters as a trusted pawn,
The claims of his loyalty couldn’t be more wrong.Waking on land, with bodies all around, Alastor’s lone goal becomes returning to theocean and the only life he’s ever known. A plan that is quickly diverted when Hades, Lord of the Underworld, appears with a twisted agenda all his own. Cast to a land far from the lapping comforts of home, Alastor’s sole companion is a troubled misfit named Sterling that soon comes to depend on him. Trained to be a hero, how far is Alastor willing to go to return to the woman he loves? And can he live with the sacrifices he’s forced to make?
Each day he schemes to break free from their thrall,
and honor a self-made vow … to kill them all.
"Wander too far, and you can lose who you are.”I am just so in love with the fact Stacey creates her own type of fairy-tale retelling, an idea of the original fairy-tale, and then adding myths and legends, ending up with this entirely unique (super dark!) version I could never have imagined. Entombed is the second in the series, where the chain of events led to this leg of the journey but it was almost as if it was completely separate (minus the references to the characters and events from the previous book). I actually found myself enjoying Entombed more than the first book in the series mainly because ti was a melting pot of stories, ideas, creatures (be it ogres, fairies, mermaids, gods, three-headed monstress)- everything came together to create the world and the plot, where as the first book was predominantly focused on (a completely altered) The Little Mermaid. Now, don't get me wrong, this was not a light-hearted romp, it too was full of darkness and despair but I just liked the overall feel of the story better.
"Are those questions, or answers? Because, if you don’t know who you are, how do you expect me to?” “I do know! You acted as if you didn’t!” ..."You’re mad.” “True, but I’ve found all of the best people are.” (Does this not have a Alice and Wonderland type feel to the banter? Definitely my favorite part of the book.) I really enjoyed crazy (like a fox) Sterling (hands down, he was my favorite) and how useful he was for the plot and the progression of Alastor in the human (tail-less?) world. He was such a powerful, yet completely unaware character, with childlike innocence and I would love to see him get a happily ever after (...but based on everything I have read in this series that may never happen). And the comments about the Jabberwocky, Alice and "drink me" make me very hopeful about another book (hint hint!) retelling in the future. I loved that this was an adventure story, less the angst from Vanessa's life and more about the current journey. And sure, Alastor holds a burning candle for his true love Vanessa, but he was still on a mission and let nothing become a hindrance to his goals. He was such a good guy, right up to the end, but I would love to see him get his revenge on those who rightly deserve it. But boy, does he sure get the shaft in this story, repeatedly and in a super huge way. Maybe one day he will get his wish but for now he has a very specific role to play.
Author Bio:
RONE Award Winner for Best YA Paranormal Work of 2012 for Embrace, a Gryphon Series Novel
Young Adult and Teen Reader voted Author of the Year 2012
Turning Pages Magazine Winner for Best YA book of 2013 & Best Teen Book of 2013
Readers’ Favorite Silver Medal Winner for Crane 2015Stacey Rourke is the author of the award winning YA Gryphon Series, the chillingly suspenseful Legends Saga, and the romantic comedy Reel Romance Series. She lives in Michigan with her husband, two beautiful daughters, and two giant dogs. She loves totravel, has an unhealthy shoe addiction, and considers herself blessed to make a careerout of talking to the imaginary people that live in her head.
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Great review, Katherine! The characters in this sound very charismatic and easily to root for! It sounds like a fun read overall! :)
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