Friday, February 19, 2016

Gods of Chaos (Red Magic #2) by Jen McConnel - Ashley's Review

*I received this book from Month9Books LLC as an eARC in exchange for an honest review*


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Title: Gods of Chaos (Red Magic #2)
Author: Jen McConnel
Publication Date: March 31st, 2015
Publisher: Month9Books, LLC

My Daughter of Chaos (#1) Review
My Daughter of Chaos (#1) Pre-Reading

Synopsis: The gods of chaos cannot be trusted.

Since battling her best friend, Darlena’s grip on Red Magic has been shaky. She heads to Scotland after the Winter Solstice in search of another Red Witch. 

On a sightseeing excursion with girls from her hostel, Darlena arrives at The Vaults, a mysterious underground city beneath Edinburgh. But there is something there that make Darlena’s instincts go haywire, as she lets loose a defensive burst of Red Magic, putting everyone around her in danger. 

If there was ever a time when Darlena needed the help of another Red witch, it was now. But beware the witch who wields Red Magic.


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Review: Daughter of Chaos was an excellent start to the Red Magic series, and I have been really looking forward to reading Gods of Chaos. Since the final book in the trilogy is out soon, I realized I should really read it now, and I am so glad I stopped putting it off! Gods of Chaos was an excellent continuation of the series, and has me so pumped for the third and final installment.

My favorite part of this series is how all of the different mythologies are combined. We get to see gods and goddesses from pretty much every major pagan religion, and even some minor gods and goddesses. The Red gods are, for the most part, incredibly terrifying and I fear for Darlena's life every time she goes up against one. I also enjoyed meeting the deities associated with the other magical paths - we're introduced to goddesses like Isis and Nepthys in this book and it was really fun to see how they interact with their witches. 

Since it's been so long since I read Daughter of Chaos, I had forgotten some of the details of what happened. Luckily, we're reminded of things that went on in the first book as the events and details become important, so I never really felt like there was something huge I was missing. Lena is still fighting against Hecate, but there are now more players in the game and some of them seem like they'll be even worse than Hecate. I'm already very concerned about how things are going to play out, and one of the Red gods doesn't even have any real power for most of this book! 

There is a little bit of a romance sub-plot in this book, but it's not forced and it's doesn't distract from the main plot. Lena also starts to form new bonds and friendships with some of the new witches she meets, and she learns that there's more to the magical world than she ever thought. Covens aren't just things found in horror movies, and the three paths she's learned about her entire life might not be the entire story. I loved learning things as Lena did, and I think it really helps with the world-building. 

I would definitely recommend this book for anyone who has read Daughter of Chaos, and this series to anyone looking for a great fantasy story that incorporates pretty much every major mythology (Greek, Norse, Egyptian, and Polynesian are among the mythologies that we get to see) into a thrilling adventure that will leave you wanting more. Jen McConnel writes beautifully and this is not one that you will want to miss! 4/5!


--Ashley

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