Cast in Secret

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View books by Michelle Sagara.

Not as good as the previous but still good - Rated
I think that Cast in Secret was a bit of a let down. It is still a really well written and an excellent read. It just doesn't have the depths that the previous two did, we don't find any more hidden depths to Kaylin and Severn's path, we find out more about her hatred of the tha'alani, but they freak me out too and it was nice that she was vulnerable to another species that she couldn't or wouldn't just pull out her daggers on.

It sounds like I'm being negative and I'm not, I really enjoyed this and would have given it an easy five, but the previous two are superior.

another exciting read, with yet more to come... - Rated
From the back:
"Still avoiding magic whenever possible, Corporal Kaylin Neya (actually she's still a Private and stays a private...) relished investigating a regular theft case once again. Until she found out the mysterious box taken from Elani Street, where the mages and charlatans mingled, and it was sometimes hard to tell the difference between the two. But she was hoping this might be a mundane case - when in the back room Kaylin saw a lost-looking girl in a reflective pool... who called out Kaylin's name.
Shaken, Kaylin tried to stay focussed on the case in hand. But since the stolen item was ancient, without a keyhole, and held tremendous darkness inside, Kaylin knew unknown forces were again playing with her destiny - and her life..."

This follows on from Cast in Courtlight by only a few days and is pretty relentless in pace. A hell of a lot happens, with the principle players being Kaylin, Severn, the dragon Lord (although Tiamaris from the first book reappears) and the Tha'alani (Ybelline from the first book is a key player here). Lord Nightshade continues to interfere and Kaylin is maybe gaining some wisdom, at last. We learn a tiny bit more about Severn, although he remains mostly the capable, enigmatic, strong, all-knowing character we already know. I read this too fast, and will re-read it soon. I gather from the web that there are two more books planned, and I look forward to them. These are good books, with strong characters, complex plots, and enough mystery to keep you reading and wanting more.