It is 4:13am. I read this book in one sitting. I paused for toilet breaks and to make drinks. That was all.

I feel I was harsh in my judgement of the end of Pantomime; I'd like to add that extra star! Lam continued from a dramatic ending of the first book so well that it's slight ridiculousness no longer matters. Shadowplay was full of surprises throughout and there was never a page that bored me. The ending chapters have left me craving the next book more than I can say and the day the book drops through my letterbox after preordering will be a very happy day. I so wish I could pick it up and read it now, as I would continue it immediately without sleep until the final page. This series has my heart, I'm in love.

First read: 2014. 4 stars
Second read: 2019. 3 stars

Finally I'm caught up on my reread and can move on to the third and final book, that I never read before.
Even though I didn't enjoy this as much this time around, I'm not changing my rating, because when I read it the first time I was definitely in the right mindset for this story, and I wanna stay true to my opinion then.

(Sidenote: in 2014 I also read this book in August, so it was almost exactly 5 years ago when I first finished this. I remembered NOTHING. It was good to refresh my mind. I forgot how much we actually learn about the world in this one, which is mostly everything, I think. It is a bit infodumpy tbh, but nothing too hard to follow.)

What-
The-
Fuc-
JUST HAPPENED

Nooooo! A cliff hanger. So glad I have the next book to read.

This is a really imaginative series and I love this latest instalment. It feels fresh and adds something to this genre.

Full Review to come on www.bookmoodreviews.com

I didn't enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed the first one. For some reason, moving from the circus into a theatre of magic felt...not gimmicky, but I hope that the third book takes place in the same setting and we're not moved into another realm. This felt repetitive: something bad happens, Micah runs, Micah manages to find somewhere to stay, Micah is brought into a new/different setting and has to learn new skills and there's a show, etc. Sure, the magic was different from the circus stuff, but there was a love story (which I really didn't like;

Spoiler

not because I have any problem with Micah falling in love with a guy, but Drystan felt so much like an older brother to me in the first one that making him a love interest felt weird. And also too convenient

) and a test of skills. I loved the addition of Cyan; she was smart and fascinating and strong. The end of the book got really interesting and set up the third book nicely, but it took too long to get there.

This book unfortunately suffered from Second Book Syndrome. The first 150 pages or so are very boring and slow. It's basically the first book all over again, but in a different setting with a new trade. (Instead of Micah learning how to be a trapeze artist in a circus, they're learning how to become a magician.) I nearly DNFed it because I was so bored and forcing myself to read it.

Worst of all, I started to notice Lam's writing style. For me, a good book makes me forget I'm even reading a book. If I start to notice sentence structure and grammar, I'm not into the book and I'm not enjoying it. I had this issue a lot. Lam's writing style is definitely very simplistic; the sentence structure is almost exactly the same for every single sentence. It started to grate on me after a while and that was really disappointing, especially because I don't remember if her writing style bothered me in the first book. I'll have to check my review.

Luckily, I stuck with it and it did get better.

I greatly enjoyed the inclusion of Cyan. She was a very interesting character and I really liked her.

The magic stuff did get boring at times, but the stuff about the Shadow was interesting. I just wish there had been more of it. It felt like a side plot when it really should have been the main plot.

There was a lot more world development this time around, which I was very happy about. I have a much better understanding of the world Micah lives in and all of the fantasy elements that are happening. I really do think the world building was the best part of this book.

I am glad that I forced myself to keep reading this book, as it did get better and I did enjoy the end. However, the beginning was a struggle and I did have some issues with the book overall. So it was slightly disappointing after how much I enjoyed the first book. I am most definitely going to read the next book, as I still enjoy the characters and the world, but I think my expectations have been lowered slightly.

Ok so I had a weird experience with this book. Like there's so much I loved about it, but at the same time I feel like I wasn't really in the mood for it when I was reading it, if that makes any sense. The world, magic, and atmosphere of this book is A+++. Not to mention the fact that it includes an intersex main character in a fantasy world. Plus the relationship between Michah and Drystan was my fav. I enjoyed so much of this book, so I really don't know why it took me so long to get through.

What-
The-
Fuc-
JUST HAPPENED