REVIEW: A Wind from the Rift by Bonnie Wynne ( The Price of Magic #2)

Author: Bonnie Wynne 

Genre: YA Fantasy 

Date Published: November 19, 2020

Publisher: Talem Press

Page Number: 554 

The sorceress has broken free of her shackles.

Months of imprisonment have forged Gwyn into something new; something dangerous. Eight dead sorceresses whisper in her ear, hungry for blood and vengeance – and after unleashing the red magic to make her escape, she fears she won’t be able to stop.

All Gwyn really wants is to go home. But as she soon discovers, escaping the Clockwork City may prove an impossible task. The wizards of the Syndicate wage a silent, bloody war over her fate, and to survive, she must play their deadly game.

As strange storms ravage the city and wizards start turning up dead, Gwyn finds herself in more danger than ever. With enemies on every side, the immortal Scions massing their armies, and the dark power inside her growing stronger, she must make a choice... To save everything she loves, is she willing to become the monster the Syndicate fears?

A Wind from the Rift is the electrifying second volume in Bonnie Wynne’s spellbinding fantasy series, The Price of Magic.

Review:

I really enjoyed A WIND FROM THE RIFT. From start to finish, I was hooked. This book definitely played with my emotions. Though it was heartbreaking, it was also captivating to see Gwyn adjust to her powers and see everyone’s reaction to them. I’m so glad her struggles weren’t sugar coated because it made the book even more real and raw. The whole journey definitely had my heartstrings in a bind, and I literally felt my chest ache at times for the pain and suffering Gwyn had to endure. That is when you know the author has you hooked. I’m also  glad we got to see more of Gwyn and Lucien. Their reunion made my heart soar and it felt like a reprieve from the suffering she had to endure before if even just for a moment. I also have to mention that the side characters continued to stand out to me in this sequel and left their mark rather than fading into the background; it made the book feel more complete for me.

The plot was just as captivating as the first novel. The story continued seamlessly and never once was I bored. I was hooked on Gwyn’s journey especially after the first book’s ending. There were only two issues I found with the plot. First, the “death” of Margan was glossed over and in the initial action, I didn’t get the impression that Gwyn had killed him so when she was released from prison I was very surprised that she didn’t think of him at all (especially given her personality and tendency to harbor blame for other’s deaths). Either way, I felt like it didn’t match her character to not think of him at all, especially given his kindness to her in the Vaults. It also would have been a good plot choice to have him mentioned throughout the story here and there given what happened in the end so that readers haven’t almost forgotten who this character is to Gwyn. The second issue I found is that for most of the book, Gwyn is focused on the Syndicate and escaping the island, and she doesn’t worry that much about Molech, who is her biggest enemy overall. I felt like the plot could have progressed truer to Gwyn’s character had she also been focused on defeating Molech as well as escaping the Syndicate afterwards. In the end, the plot was still captivating and exciting, and I enjoyed it. I can’t wait to see what happens next!

P.S. I would highly recommend it to fans of Sarah J. Maas!