Review: The Memory of Fire by Callie Bates

Title: The Memory of Fire
Author: Callie Bates
Series: The Waking Land #2
Genre: Fantasy/Ya
Publisher: Del Rey
Publication Date: June 5th, 2018
Edition: Kindle Edition, 448 pages
Source: NetGalley
Purchase/Pre-Order: Amazon US | Kobo | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | BAM





Synopsis:

   Thanks to the magic of Elanna Valtai and the Paladisan noble Jahan Korakides, the lands once controlled by the empire of Paladis have won their independence. But as Elanna exhausts her powers restoring the ravaged land, news that the emperor is readying an invasion spurs Jahan on a desperate mission to establish peace.

   Going back to Paladis proves to be anything but peaceful. As magic is a crime in the empire, punishable by death, Jahan must hide his abilities. Nonetheless, the grand inquisitor’s hunters suspect him of sorcery, and mysterious, urgent messages from the witch who secretly trained Jahan only increase his danger of being exposed. Worst of all, the crown prince has turned his back on Jahan, robbing him of the royal protection he once enjoyed.

   As word of Jahan’s return spreads, long-sheathed knives, sharp and deadly, are drawn again. And when Elanna, stripped of her magic, is brought to the capital in chains, Jahan must face down the traumas of his past to defeat the shadowy enemies threatening his true love’s life, and the future of the revolution itself.

    I had a much harder time being invested in this book than I did the first. I also don't really remember Jahan very well from the first book. I remember that he was there, that eventually a romance formed between him and Elanna, that he was kind of surly when we first meet his character, but beyond that, I don't really remember much. I would have much rather the story continue to follow Elanna.

    This book had a really slow pace, which also added to why I struggled getting and staying, invested in what was happening. I don't remember Jahan being a weak-minded person, and he came across as being very weak and doubtful of himself in this book. 

    I wish I loved this book as much as I did the first, but there are a bunch of small things that kept me from that. I also felt that Jahan did a lot of whining in this book, he wasn't exactly what I would call proactive. 

    I might come back to this book at a later time and give it another go; if I re-read the first book to refresh some of the events that spurred things in this book.