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House of Blood and Bone is the second book in The Wyrd Sequence series by Kimberley J. Ward. House of Blood and Bone was published on the 19th of November 2020 by Kimberley J. Ward.
Following the end of House of Fear and Freedom, Nessa escapes the grasp of two Dragon Riders and finds her friends. From there, the group begins their long journey to safety, vengeance and the King. And it is a long and tedious journey.
EVALUATION
Genre
Similar to the first book, it fits the genre well. While there were elements of Fantasy and High Fantasy, they disappeared amongst other aspects, bringing a negative mist, much like the mist in the story. The plot and pacing have impacted the rating of this book.
Characters
As much as I enjoyed the first House of Fear and Freedom characters, I couldn’t bear them in House of Blood and Bone.
While there was still depth to the characters, no one changed between books. Despite so much happening with events and emotions between House of Fear and Freedom & House of Blood and Bone, no one changed.
Nessa’s most significant personality trait in House of Blood and Bone is reduced to a single “woe me” ailment for the entire book until the last chapter. However, the novelty and suspense of this ailment wore off a quarter of the way through the book.
This plotline could have worked as a first-book thing. However, since I read the books in order this plotline lost its effect on me fast. It becomes annoying to have a strong-willed and powerful character become nothing more than a weak and timid character who slowly begins to distrust the group.
The best parts of House of Blood and Bone were the first and last chapters, with interesting character development and insight. There were a few moments where the characters were interesting, but for the most part, it was stagnant.
Plot & Theme
The plot was okay. It is greatly overshadowed by the pacing, as is everything. However, taken on its own, it was an excellent bridge between the events of House of Fear and Freedom and, hopefully, House of Gore and Gold. More time in the plot could have been spent preparing each other with plans and training, gaining information and stuff like that, but it didn’t. Unfortunately, most of the time was spent travelling to different places and the repetitive days in the final town/city.
Pacing
Unfortunately, nothing happens in House of Blood and Bone. Despite being about 200 pages longer than House of Fear and Freedom, only a tiny bit of progression occurred.
The group did a lot of travelling and lingering while nothing was done to prepare the group for the final book’s events. Half of the book could have been summed up in a few paragraphs explaining time’s passage.
The pacing in House of Blood and Bone is so slow that I struggled to make it to the end. However, I did finish it. I finished it since it is the middle book, so it might be slow before the big finish.
However, the pacing killed a lot of this book, to be honest. The events of House of Blood and Bone could have been condensed down to about half of the book and been faster. There were critical parts of the story that required time to understand. However, parts like the repetition of life and all the walking could have been condensed. It was established in the first book that Orm got money in various ways, so quickly explaining how one of the many days went with Orm earning money to see how it went would have been fine. Then, quickly moving to the following central point, like a plan or moving on, would have been better. Instead, it felt like everything came to a stop before the next event happened, and then everything stopped again.
It felt like I was living in this world. Which can be good, but I don’t want actually to feel the time passing by. I would instead acknowledge that time has passed with daily routines roughly the same and throw a lot into one busy couple of days and say, “Now it’s time to go.”
Story Impact
Ultimately, I was relieved when I finished it, and I have high hopes that the final book will do better. Now that it is the story’s climax, hopefully, it will be fast-paced with cunning plans and whatnot. I’m unsure how it will go based on how it ended, but we’ll see.
RECOMMENDATION
Honestly, if you are willing to read something slow-paced with characters you enjoyed in the first book, then yeah. It is essential to read it before jumping into the final book since there are things discussed that weren’t discussed in House of Fear and Freedom. I’m sure they will be important in the next book. However, I don’t think I would read it again. The pacing of the story is far too slow, with little reward. I hope this means there will be a lot of action and movement in the last book, like the first one.
Information & Rating
Rating: 3/7
Book: House of Blood and Bone
Author(s): Kimberley J. Ward
Series Name: The Wyrd Sequence
Pages: 627
Format: Kindle
ISBN/ASIN: B08N5831S9
Publication Date: 10th of November 2020
Publisher: Kimberley J. Ward
Reading Speeds
(Based on Kindle/How Long To Read)
Average Estimated Reading Speed: 9 hours and 51 minutes
Based on Kindle
My Estimated Reading Speed: 18 hours and 14 minutes
Based on Kindle Calculations
Goodreads Blurb
Change is coming… It has begun…
From a dark dungeon hidden in the forests of the Clēa Mountains, to the winding streets of Ellor, the city of gold, Nessa’s journey continues as shadows gather and as sinister mists rise, harbouring monsters of old.
Faced with the uncertainty of her past, and with her future in doubt, Nessa must start to understand what it means to be both a Dragon Rider and an Old Blood if she is to ever comprehend the strange magic that lies coiled beneath her skin, showing itself in frightening bursts.
But things are not what they once were. Everything is different. Towns will burn and tales will be told, and nothing is quite what it seems.
Enemies might be allies.
Friends may be foe.
Lies will be spun and secrets will be told…
