The Missing Of Clairdelune by Christelle Dabos

 

*This review will contain spoilers for the first book in this series, A Winter's Promise.*

After enjoying A Winter's Promise last week, I decided to carry on with The Mirror Visitor Quartet and read The Missing of Clairdelune next. Since the first book ended on a cliffhanger, I was very interested to see how Ophelia and Thorn's story would continue. 

The plot of the novel picks up right where the first story left off, with Ophelia going off to the court in Citaceleste to meet Farouk, the ancestral spirit of the Pole. When Farouk discovers her ability to read objects, he unexpectedly promotes her to Vice-Storyteller, thrusting her into the spotlight and exposing her even more to the evil machinations of the jealous denizens of his court. In exchange for her services, Farouk agrees to place her under his special protection until her marriage to Thorn can be completed. This marriage will transfer some of Ophelia's reading abilities to Thorn, and these powers, combined with his prodigious memory, will hopefully allow him to read Farouk's mysterious book. Farouk, Ophelia, and Thorn all desperately want to learn the secrets of this book (although for different reasons), so it is imperative that everything goes to plan. Ophelia struggles with her new role. She isn't much of a storyteller, and Farouk's protection is spotty at best. No one would dare attack her openly at court, but she is still receiving threatening letters warning her that something bad will happen to her if she does go through with her wedding. 

Eventually, Ophelia is drawn into a new and dangerous plot. Some key figures at court have suddenly gone missing, and Farouk orders her to take the lead on the investigation. The consequences for failing to unravel the mystery are steep, and she must combine her reading abilities with her observations and memories to try and figure everything out. Thorn quickly becomes the only person she can trust, as her quest for the truth brings her into contact with disreputable characters and shady parts of the city. Together, they must work to find the missing people before Farouk's patience runs out and their mission to decipher his book falls apart completely.

This was another enjoyable entry into the series, and I was happy to get lost in the world Dabos created again. Similar to the first book, I really appreciated the creative world building and the characters. The magical setting of these books is so unusual that it is difficult to describe it to someone that hasn't read them. It blends mythology, and magic together in a very unique way that is definitely worth experiencing. It has some Harry Potter vibes to it, but it's weirder than that. I really enjoyed learning more about the Arks and the different cultures in their society as the story developed. Dabos is certainly very skilled at coming up with interesting details and making her fantasy worlds feel like real, magical places. 

Ophelia and Thorn continued to be engaging and well-developed characters too. Their relationship with each other develops deliciously slowly, with little bits of romance sneaking in here and there. They both grow as individuals throughout the story, and it was nice to learn more about them. I continued to appreciate Ophelia in particular, as she was still a quiet and firm character. Dabos continued to characterize her as both refreshingly normal and extraordinary at the same time. She got stronger and more confident throughout the story, but she still gave off the feeling of being a regular, relatable young woman. I really liked being able to see a little bit of myself in her. Thorn continued to be wonderfully eccentric and moody. He gives off the feeling of the Beast from Beauty and the Beast, and that's one of my favorite tropes, so I have a soft spot for him.

That being said, I did think this novel was a little bit weaker than the first in the series. This is purely due to plot issues, mainly pacing and clarity. As I mentioned before, I think the world building and characters are fantastic, but the plot is a definitely confusing and the pace is slow. This isn't always a bad thing, but in the case of this story, the main plot event of the missing people isn't even introduced until around page 300, and all the exciting mystery solving elements are concentrated into the end. Everything that happens before that is mostly court intrigues. All of those details contribute to the story, of course, but there were times when I felt very bored while reading. I think the action could have been spread out a bit better or maybe the events of the first half of the book could have been more streamlined. The story itself started becoming difficult to follow here too. There are a lot of people and details involved, and while everything makes sense in the moment I was reading it, putting it together in my head was difficult. My husband asked me what the book was about, and my answer was extremely rambling and not very coherent. I wish the story itself was a little more focused and easier to follow.

Even so, The Missing of Clairdelune was still a great read and a good addition to the Mirror Visitor Quartet. This one ends on a cliffhanger again, so I'm heading straight into the next book to see how the story will continue to unfold. I'm guessing it will only get more complicated from here.

Challenge Tally

Finally in 2022 - Series Edition: 13/28

Total Books Read in 2022: 40