Book Rating: ★★★★★ (4.75/5 stars)
Iria finally has the life she was destined: at last, she is living in the palace with her sister, Helena, and is finally a true princess. But that doesn’t make her happy. She feels alone, misunderstood, and like a stain on the palace culture. On top of that, an impending plague is threatening witches across the kingdom…and her life could be on the line.
In a compelling adventure, Iria sets sail with Princess Oen, Commander Elias of the Guard, and a barrage of others including Vima, Luce, and Kaed, to find the source of this plague. But along the way, the real victory is the confidence Iria builds and the friendships she forms.
Emily Poirier is a master at analyzing these relationships. With Iria, the reader grows; we learn more about each of the characters, grow into each of the relationships, and feel our hearts break over loss. I woke up at 4 AM, and unable to sleep decided to read a couple chapters…only to stay awake and completely finish the book, unable to put it down. By the end, I was crying over the losses Iria went through, but also smiling over her successes. I became connected with this crew, and I was so sad to see their voyage end. I can only hope they’ll go on an adventure again! Although, Iria would need a lot of persuading from Oen for that to happen.
While I loved everything about this book, the only place I thought it fell short was the overall conflict between the cause of the plague and Iria, Oen, and Elias. Poirier does an amazing job touching on the magic elements, something that wasn’t as prominent in the The Color Thief, and developing the key relationships between characters, she neglected focusing on this central conflict that resolved a bit too quickly in my opinion. But, that did not take away from my overall enthusiasm over the story! The world building was absolutely phenomenal, with beautiful descriptions and analysis of color, that in the end the small nature of the “main conflict” did not feel that small at all.
This book is everything I was hoping The Color Thief would be, and more! I cried, I smiled, and I fell in love with the motley crew. Without a doubt, I would recommend that you pick up The Color Thief Duology! You will not be disappointed.
Read my review for The Color Thief here.
What’s it about?
Iria should have been a Princess. Instead, she spent twenty-seven years struggling to survive in the Wasteland beyond her kingdom’s borders. Now, thanks to the love and bravery of her sister, Iria finally has the life she was born to. She never has to worry or struggle again.
So why is she still unhappy?
When her magic finds the source of the plague that has been killing witches, it becomes clear that Iria is the only person with a chance of stopping it. Iria hopes that this quest will allow her to avenge a fallen friend, but doing so would require her to stop grieving and move on, and she’s not sure how to do that yet. She’s not sure how to be part of a team, either, and she’ll be forced onto one that doesn’t know her but fears her anyway, and she’ll have to battle their distrust as well as the plague.
E.S. Barrison 