Review:
Delora used to be a happy young woman who enjoyed painting. Being sent to a new town to marry Hadith left her with few social connections or friends, but it wasn't a bad marriage, at first. Then Delora struggled to get pregnant, gained weight, and started shrinking in on herself as Hadith emotionally abused her and blamed her for their childlessness. Her last straw was when she caught Hadith in their bed with another woman. In a fit of rage, she killed them both. Now, as punishment, she's being taken to the Veil to be eaten alive by demons.
Instead, she literally lands on top of Nameless, the young Duskwalker Orpheus met in the first book. Nameless had been thinking about how he'd love to have a Bride of his own, but he'd figured it was unlikely considering his current existence and level of development. He's pleased and pleasantly surprised when Delora agrees to give him her soul before he can succumb to his instinctual hunger and rage caused by her fear. Delora, for her part, is deeply depressed, thinks she's just agreed to die at Nameless' hands, and considers it a just punishment for the lives she took.
Nameless (who Delora eventually names Magnar) is thrilled to have a Bride of his own. He has no idea what's wrong with her or how to make it right, but he's determined to create a home for them both where she'll be happy.
There are a lot of developments in this that make it a very different book from the first one, much of which I can't reveal without spoiling things. I will say, however, that I appreciated that Reyne didn't make one particular aspect all happiness and rainbows - it would have been a horrible and upsetting experience, and it did indeed take Delora some time to adjust.
The sex continues to be one of the less appealing aspects of this series for me. In this volume in particular, Delora and Magnar's first sex scene is...a lot. He doesn't fully understand what's happening, and Delora recognizes that and that it's probably a sign that she should put a stop to things. She doesn't, which is something she feels guilty about later, especially since Magnar has a bit of a freak-out about certain aspects of his own physiology. It was weird and kind of discomfiting, is what I'm saying.
But I continue to enjoy learning more about the Duskwalkers and how they and their world function. This particular book both answered questions and added additional ones. I'm looking forward to seeing what later books in the series reveal, even though I continue to dislike the idea of Jabez getting his own romance. I know bad things happened to him in the past, but that doesn't excuse the way he treats even his own allies.
Writing-wise, this had pretty much the same issues as the first book, with occasional odd or awkward wording (and no, this isn't just an American English vs. Australian English thing). I continue to be somewhat annoyed by the way characters' eyes are frequently described as bowing.
I plan to continue on with this series, and I'm glad Kitty's book is next (did he pick that name for himself, or did someone else give it to him?).
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