Review: Midnight Jewel (The Glittering Court #2)

The Selection meets Reign in this dazzling trilogy of interwoven novels about three girls on a quest for freedom and true love from #1 internationally bestselling author Richelle Mead.

Midnight Jewel, by Richelle Mead, is the second installment in The Glittering Court series. Mirabel Vaina (henceforth Mira) is not like the other Glittering Court girls. She is a war refugee, cast out of her home country and thrust into another, where she has learned to fight against the many injustices around her. For some, the Glittering Court offers a chance at a life they’ve only ever dreamed of, one of luxury, glamour, and leisure. But for Mira, it’s simply a means to an end. She learns that her older brother, Lonzo, is a bondsman an ocean away. Seeking to reunite with her brother in the new world, she plans to earn off her marriage contract price, and finally be free.

Mira pitches herself as an asset to one of the passengers on board the ship: the sardonic and aloof Grant Elliot, whom she’s discovered is a spy for the prestigious McGraw Agency—and her ticket to buying her freedom. His cover blown, Grant has little choice but to take her on. Mira applies herself by day, learning the etiquette and customs that will help to earn her anonymity. By night, she dons a mask and slips into the city, fighting injustice and corruption on her own terms—and impressing Grant with her extraordinary abilities and insights into a brewing rebellion. But the rebellion isn’t all they’re fighting…

Neither of them can ignore the attraction burning between them—an attraction so powerful, it threatens to unravel everything Mira’s worked so hard for. With freedom finally within her grasp, can Mira risk it all for love?

I thought Adelaide and Cedric's romance was breathtaking. Midnight Jewel exceeded my expectations in every way. I loved the romantic relationship between MIrabel and Grant. A minor character in the first novel, Mirabel turned out to be a brave young woman with inner strength and an adventurous streak to fight injustice that comes her way. Grant, a undercover agent of Balanquan and Osfridian heritage, seeks to reclaim his citizenship and social status in the Balanquan Empire. He has enough Osfridian features to mingle among the colonists and spy for the McGraw Agency, an investigative crime unit of the Crown. Grant's secretive and cynical personality annoys Mirabel at first, she can't help how handsome and strong he looks. The two slowly come to realize their feelings for each other and together work to rescue their friends and loved ones. I will admit that Mirabel and Grant work well together as a team!

Although I wished Mead had provided some kind of map or pictures to illustrate the historical period of the series, I could haphazardly guess that the background mirrors life in the 18th century American colonies prior to the Revolutionary War. Cape Triumph, Adoria would be somewhere in the Middle colonies (present-day Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York). Osfrid would be Great Britain, Lorandy would be France, and the Balanquans would be similar to the Iroquois Federation. Sirminica, where Mirabel hails from, is somewhere in Southern Europe (Spain, Italy) or North Africa. Keep in mind this is my estimation of the plot so I could be wrong with my geography. Overall, I enjoyed this installment in the Glittering Court and cannot wait to hear the fiery, practical-minded Tasmin's point of view in the final installment!

Stay tuned for the third and final novel in the Glittering Court, The Emerald Sea.

Reiew: Archangel's Enigma (Guild Hunter #8)

Naasir is the most feral of the powerful group of vampires and angels known as the Seven, his loyalty pledged to the Archangel Raphael. When rumors surface of a plot to murder the former Archangel of Persia, now lost in the Sleep of the Ancients, Naasir is dispatched to find him. For only he possesses the tracking skills required - those more common to predatory animals than to man.

Archangel's Enigma is the eighth installment in the Guild Hunter novel series. This story focuses on Naasir, one of archangel Raphael's Seven, who have pledged loyalty to serve him. Naasir is unique in that he is neither a vampire nor human. He is an other--born out of an abominable experiment that combined different animal species without consent. His kind shouldn't exist - a human body with tiger-like features and a vampire's blood thirst. But Raphael and the angels found him and raised him in the Refuge, teaching him how to behave around people and angels despite his feral (animal) abilities. Several centuries later, Naasir feels that it's the right time to find his soulmate, whom he believes is hiding from him.

When rumors surface of a plot to murder the former Archangel of Persia, now lost in the Sleep of the Ancients, Naasir is dispatched to find him. For only he possesses the tracking skills required - those more common to predatory animals than to man. Enlisted to accompany Naasir, Andromeda, a young angelic scholar with dangerous secrets is fascinated by his nature - at once playful and brilliant, sensual and brutal. Andromeda is the only grandchild of Charisemnon, ally of Lijuan, archangel of China. She fled the abuses and depravities of his court for the Refuge when barely more than a fledgling to pursue her dream of becoming a scholar. Her main area of study is the Ancients for the wisdom they can offer, and the study of mythological creatures because she is fascinated by them. It's her knowledge of the Ancients that causes Raphael to send Naasir to protect her while she searches for the Sleeping Ancient whom they believe Lijuan is also seeking. Lijuan is determined to exterminate anyone who is a threat to her rule of destruction.

As they race to find the Sleeping archangel before it's too late, Naasir will force her to question all she knows...and tempt her to walk into the magnificent, feral darkness of his world. Andromeda has a big secret that she vowed not to tell anyone. But first they must survive an enemy vicious enough to shatter the greatest taboo of the angelic race and plunge the world into a screaming nightmare...

Singh delivers another brilliant story from an underrated character that I had no idea would be so fascinating to hear in his own voice. Naasir is a chimera born out of an angelic experiment that defied the laws of nature. Although his Creator is deceased, Naasir is allowed to live because he had no choice in the matter. Over the centuries, Naasir has learned to control both his feral abilities around people though it is no easy feat. He thins like a man and like a tiger which presents an interesting case. Readers also learn that Naasir is a brilliant spymaster who can get in and out of dangerous situations. And for the first time in his life, he has learned what love feels like with Andromeda, who does not see him as a freak of nature but as a mysterious creature that excites her scholarly instincts. Andromeda will later reveal that she has the fighting skills to defend herself, which impresses Naasir even more so. I thought Janvier and Ashwini's romance was amazing, but Naasir and Andromeda take it to another level that I didn't think was possible. Singh continues to outdo herself in ways that I thought were impossible with this series. I highly recommend this novel.

Stay tuned for the next novel in the Guild Hunter series, Archangel's Heart.