Scorpio Richelle Mead is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of urban fantasy books for both adults and teens. Originally from Michigan, Richelle now lives in Seattle, Washington where she works on her three series full-time: Georgina Kincaid, Dark Swan, and Vampire Academy.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Immortal Crown by Richelle Mead is book two of the Age of X series and I have to say, I am even more drawn into this series after reading this book. The story progresses well and while I’m not entirely happy with the fact that I have to wait for what might feel like forever for the next book, I really am excited with where this series is going and how Mead is developing everything.
The story picks up shortly after book one ends and we are pulled back into the work Justin and Mae are doing investigating the return of the gods. As a servitor, Justin continues to serve the government and evaluate the religions inside the RUNA while Mae continues to protect him. In addition, they are also digging into what the gods are doing with the Elect and what that will mean to the world.
As the story takes Mae and Justin into Arcadia to support Lucian Darling’s agenda, Mae is also on her own mission. Through the use of an amber dagger, Mae has visions of her niece and they lead her to Arcadia. Arcadia is a country that neighbors RUNA, and Mead did a wonderful job of building a world very different from Gemman society. In Arcadia men run everything and girls are treated as property. Because of this, Mae’s cover is that of Justin’s concubine and it was definitely a twist to their relationship.
While in Arcadia, both Justin and Mae connect with the gods who have been reaching out to them and have decisions to make on whether they will work with them to build their following. At the same time, Justin has uncovered a plot against the RUNA that the leaders of Arcadia have hatched and as Mae takes unexpected action around freeing her niece, Justin makes the decision to loop Lucian in on what has really been going on and influences him to make some decisions that will work out in their favor.
I loved seeing the progression of Justin’s relationship with Horatio and Magnus and his willingness to lean on them more despite his aversion to giving himself over to Odin was great. I thought the twist at the end was unexpected…based on what I was thinking would happen and I’m excited to see what happens now (SORRY if that sound super vague). I do have to say…Justin has some swoony parts here too and he completely made up for the bad behavior he showed in book one.
I really like Mae. She isn’t afraid to make tough decisions and do what she needs to in order to protect those she feels she needs to protect. She has also had enough of Justin’s avoidance of any idea or talk around their relationship and I love that she sees right through him and isn’t afraid to tell him what she feels anyway.
I love the way Mead developed this world and builds out the characters. There is so much more going on that I can’t even talk about because it might give something away. I hope that people decide to check this story out as it is a great mix of action, great characters, and a great story. I am interested to see where Mead takes the story from here. She has introduced a few of the gods and I am curious to see who else might make an appearance and in what way. If you are looking for something a bit different that falls into the Science Fiction/Dystopian genre definitely check this out.
Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin for the review copy.
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