HOW GOOD IS IT?

8/10

 

BASICALLY

Here we are — the third instalment of the Mirror Visitor quartet. How I wish I had waited until all four books came out. 

This book picks up three years after Thorn’s disappearance. Ophelia is in the most miserable state – she has been sent back to her home, the Doyennes watch her every move, no news from Thorn, endless worry haunts her sleep due to a little fact…

 

THE WORLD IS PROBABLY BEING DESTROYED PIECE BY PIECE BY A MASKED GUY WHOSE WHEREABOUTS NO ONE KNOWS. 

 

With some help from Archibald, Ophelia is able to escape Anima. She chooses to begin her search for “God” (masked guy) and Thorn in Babel, an ark we soon come to learn is the model by which God wants the whole universe to be in order for him to gain control.

Ophelia, with her talent for reading the past of objects, becomes an apprentice at Babel’s most prestigious institution, where all the important information is kept. 

SO…

This book is not an action-packed and fast-paced read. Instead, along with Ophelia, we are invited to discover a new, exciting, dark, yet dreamlike world that is Babel. Many plot points in here lay the groundwork for the next book and probably won’t be important until much later. 

With that in mind, this book is a pleasure to go through. 

Intricate world details, character interactions you will want to read again, mysteries being unfolded and the dots gradually connected. 

Then confrontation with the antagonist, I will say, is a little flat and is resolved in a not so satisfying fashion given all the building up of the whole book. But perhaps the idea is that there is no real villain in this book and the true challenge is for the main characters to find themselves again after the trauma they have been through and arming up for their final battle against God.  

For those of you who wonder when the long-awaited reunion between Monsieur and Madame Awkward happens, it will take you by surprise about halfway through the book. 

A FEW NOTABLE THINGS

Back at the Pole, Farouk continues to battle his forgetfulness now that he has a daughter: Victoria. But his character is more interesting than ever because he seems to be the only one with a spiritual connection to Victoria; and despite his inability to remember a single thing about her (like how old she is), he does his best to protect her and — as of now – is the only one who can do so effectively. Well… at least when he’s there. A new enemy lurks about in the Pole, and with Berenilde unable to detect this person’s power and Archibald gone, you can expect Farouk’s role to expand in the next book? 

Thorn and Ophelia’s relationship. You know… because three years ago, they were kind of… sort of… MARRIED. 

Despite the incredibly short amount of time they spend together in Babel, there is a lot to say about them. Which is why I will devote to Thorn and Ophelia a separate post (here).

Old characters don’t get as much time as you would like, but new ones bring more intrigue to the story. You get more kind hearts, more jerks, more blackmailing, and more unexpected help when our female lead most needs it. 

And speaking of the female lead. Can somebody just take Ophelia out for a day? The girl spends all her time being blackmailed and bullied. And even though Ophelia possesses a certain quiet strength to overcome it all and focus on her main tasks, she definitely needs a real break. A dance, a festival, an ice cream, anything.