Unfortunately the issues I had in the first book only worsened in this one. I feel like I really could've enjoyed this series if it just had overall been more condensed, because even in this shorter second book, it felt like comparatively little actually happened. This is only worsened by how repetitive the thoughts of each POV feel at times, where it basically boils down to the same feelings described in a bunch of different ways.

I also just can't fully get on board with the romance anymore because the dynamic just feels too unbalanced for me. I do like that a lot of this book was Sandis trying to find more agency, but Rone didn't really get much better in terms of secrets and lies. I just feel like the power is too unfairly shifted in Rone's favor, and he's aware of this fact and uses it. It's not necessarily villainous, but his redemption is soured by some acts he still commits in this book, and I just couldn't do it anymore.

Again, I really do like the lore that this world is built on, but it's either the fact that we only get sprinkles of it here and there or the way these sprinkles are delivered that just don't fully work for me, and have the impact it should have.

Overall, this series just wasn't for me. The industrial setting and lore usually would have been quite interesting, but the story itself just couldn't hold my interest. I don't think I'll be reading the final book.

Myths and Mortals is the first book I read from this author and I was pleasantly pleased with the storyline and the well-crafted characters. A great fantasy you will want to read.

Sandis has not been in control of her own will for much of her life. She has been a vessel for evil spirits until, with the help of her friend Rone, she escaped the clutches of Kazan. But along the way, Rone betrayed her in order to help his own family and now they will need to come together again when they learn that Kazen is still alive and still trying to bring his world-ending beast into the realm.

Sandis is trying to stay out of sight so that she can't be brought back to being a slave to the spirits. She is living with a distant relative, an uncle, who appears to be leading a criminal life.

Rone and Sandis won't be able to rely on the element of surprise to fight Kazan and they meet other 'vessels' - Bastien, Rist, and Kaili - who will join them in their effort to save the world from Kazan and his beasts from beyond.

I did like this book more than the first in the series. One of the keys to my enjoyment of this was getting to know the main characters a little bit better. The first book was a lot of set-up for the larger series but this book felt like it was the meat of the series - strong characters and a definitive plot that was fun to follow.

The book still moves a bit slowly and there were times when I was bored and just wanted everything to move along a bit more.

This is the sort of series that I look forward to reading, based mostly on the author's previous books, but currently this series is not holding my attention very well, but it is getting better.

Like the first book, this doesn't quite work as a stand-alone book

Looking for a good book? <em>Myths &amp; Mortals</em> by Charlie N. Holmberg is the second book in her Numina Trilogy and steps up the adventure from the first book, but it still moves a bit slowly and you have to commit to the entire series in order to actually get the story.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a fun ride! I was really surprised by how much I liked this story. I may be a bit too old for it at 21 but it didn’t deterred me at all. I definitely recommend this book to readers of all ages, especially if they have a thing for fantasy like me.

Like all of Charlie N. Holmberg’s books, this was a fun and exciting story, but overall not very memorable.

This was such a wild ride! This fast-paced YA fantasy will keep you on your toes as you continue Sandis and Rone’s story! Sandis finds herself unsure of who she can trust after she finds herself back with Rone. You’ll get to meet new characters in this second installment and in the end be left hanging. If the ending cliffhanger doesn’t make you want to pick up book three than I don’t know what would!

I picked up the audio and it is fantastic! I highly recommend it if you choose to go the audiobook route!

It took me a really long time to get back around to this series. Part of it was that I didn't enjoy Smoke & Summons as much as I though I would, and part of it was that I had some other things going on in my life.

This book picks right up where the first one left off and it just sort of continued down hill for me from there. I am happy to report that there was a stronger plot, but the world building is still significantly lacking from the first novel and this one focuses on it even less. I feel like the concept for this series is strong, but it is lacking in execution. I know nothing about this world.

I also don't feel any closer to Sandis or Rone at the end of this one either. I said after the first one that Sandis had the personality of plain toast and perhaps now there is a smidge of butter on it. She's still a super special pure snowflake. Maybe that's why she has no personality. Rone is still fine. It's still not a great compliment, but it's all I can really give him.

Also, it ends in a cliffhanger. It was a tad predictable and it felt rushed, but I can see where a reader with less qualms would be ready to dive into the third book. I, on the other hand, am not sure if I'll be able to do it. I'm just here for the premise, which keeps taunting me and not paying off. I'll see if I can make it through the last one, but I make no promises.

Thank you to Netgalley and 47 North for providing me with an e-ARC of this novel. However, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Unfortunately I really didn't enjoy the first book in this series, and don't think it is fair to continue with the sequel, as it is clearly just not my cup of tea. Apologies.

I was provided an e-arc from netgalley to read and review

I unfortunately missed the opportunity to read

An enjoyable sequel. Some amount of light fluffy dialogue, but still, I liked it. It followed some tropes of the genre, but that doesn't take away from the book.

A great book from one of my favorite authors. I look forward to reading more from Charlie Holmberg.

“Fire had taken her father. Sorrow, her mother. Drowning, her brother. But she’d formed a new family. It was a delicate one, built on feathers and threads, but she’d built it all the same.”

As much as I loved Smoke & Summons, I think I loved this one more. I was so excited to dive back into this world and find out answers to all my questions. I got many of them, as well as answers to questions I didn’t even have. The world building in this series is so superb, and I love the way the characters shift and change as they grow and come to terms with the reality of their lives. There are new characters (some of which are so darn punny) and old characters who are give more space in this book than the previous one, and each one adds an exciting element to the story. There’s this niggling thought in the back of my head that something isn’t what it seems, and I’m dying to read the next book to see if what I’m wondering is true.

The ending of this... I can’t even. I need to know what happens and I’ll probably be chewing my fingernails to the quick while waiting for my answers. September can’t come soon enough!

After finally being set free Sandis tried to live with her great uncle. She realizes that he only wishes to use her and while she’s living with him, children ages 10-16 are disappearing marking her believe Kazen is back to his old tricks. She must now find the other vessels and try to stop kazen from bringing kolosos into this realm. Will she be able to stop him, or will Kolosos be left to run rampant on the world.

I enjoyed this book. Rone and Sandis both grew as characters. Sandis finally starts to see the world for what it is and becomes more skeptical of the people that she encounters and realizes that while she searched for family she had family all along.
Rone finally came to terms with his feeling for Sandis and realizes he’s so anything to make her happy.
I like that we get to see more of the other vessels.

Opening line:
"In a room clouded with cigar smoke, Sandis stood between two men who had betrayed her."

Sandis barely made it out of Kazen's control, with Rone's help, before she is betrayed, with Rone's help. She wants desperately to trust someone, but that is proving out of her grasp. Until she meets someone from her family. HER FAMILY. Sandis will do anything to have a family. Even live with her vile Uncle Talbur. He crosses the line one last time and Sandis finds herself wandering the streets and trying to figure out where to land.
Rone justifies what he did to Sandis, though it pains him almost every time he talks with Sandis (probably because she likes to poke that wound with a red, hot poker). His goal in the last book was to rescue his mom from prison and get her to safety, which he did. He has only a few weeks to join his mom before his papers expire, but in his guilt, and possibly love for Sandis, he wants to rescue her.
The two have to join forces to defeat Kazen. They go to every person they can think of, call in every favor, to find and bring Kazen down.
There's a lot fighting, a lot of pain, crying, yelling, and anger in this book. But it is mixed with smiles, help and a kiss or two. And loads of surprises and twists.

Charlie has the innate ability to write a story that pulls the reader immediately into the fantasy world she's created. The characters are full of weakness and heroics; the world is dark, or bright, depending on the characters; and the story arc is powerful.
On the flip side. she teases the readers with her CLIFFHANGERS! Luckily, I have the third book in this trilogy and can start reading it today.

Thanks to netgalley for the early read!

Myths & Mortals, the sequel to Smoke & Summons, picks up where the first book ends, but with much less endless running and more actual dealing with problems. More character development, too. The story takes a fun turn when Sandis finds out that life with her uncle isn't what she'd hoped it would be—and that her nemesis is still alive and as dastardly as ever. Maybe more…

Thankfully, Sandis becomes much more independent in this volume. Rone shows some serious commitment to her (and still constantly pulls his hair). However… both characters display extreme emotional reactions to everything that happens, which I found colorful but exhausting. Lots of angst going here. It's a relief , though, to see our heroine resisting Rone's overtures after his actions in Book 1. While Sandis often acts helpless and does not know what to do next, at least she has some self-respect, and she eventually stands up for her choices and follows them whether anyone is coming with her or not.

Kazen's devious pursuit of World Domination continues. The glimpses we have of him in action are brief (too brief) and a little baffling. The frames of reference are a little too thin. The result was the portrayal of a madman. Maybe he is!?

It is a conundrum that the setting becomes clearer in this sequel, but the promise of a rich ancient culture only gets mention when it can't be avoided. Who were the Noscon people? What happened to them? I like the fact that they left an indelible print, that their stories—and their magic—are rare. The magic system of the world itself is (again) a nice change from the usual fantasy fare, and the glimpse into the truth of the "nether" world is intriguing.

The demon Ireth gets a new vessel, and I found the character conveniently cooperative. Is he that self-sacrificing, or just unable to do any real thinking on his own? He comes across as handy but pale means of getting Sandis close to Ireth again.

The cliffhanger was almost awesome, bringing some of the foreshadowing from Book 1 to fruition. Too bad I am not a fan of such heavy-handed cliffhangers.

While I feel that books one and two could have been combined into one volume (and cut out a lot of the running and the repetitive angst), Holmberg's writing style still managed to pull me through the entire book in a single night. All in all, it's a good story and a fun change of pace.

I didn't expect the characters to get more interesting, but they did. Even the villains have some character development. I might've enjoyed this series if it weren't so grim and inundated with angsty YA characters. Several angsty moments could've been cut from the book. I found myself skimming through them. Overall, the series is too grim dark for me to enjoy, but it holds my attention with the great characters and cliff hangers.

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Charlie Holmberg has been a favorite author of mine for years, ever since i read her paper magician series. While this series as a whole was harder for me to get into this book was much more intriguing then the first. I found the development of the characters to be good and the plot to be pretty solid. I loved the store that Charlie is weaving and I hope things continue on the path she's setting. I can't wait to see what's in store for the next book.

Oh my goodness! What a ride!
In the second book of the series we are still tossed into this magical world of Miss Holmberg’s. The danger that kept me on the edge of my seat in the first book is still there and darker than ever.

As with most book series you have had the world and character building in the first book and then things heat up even more in the second. I can’t imagine living in such a crazy world like this one, but loved reading about it. Definitely a must read for those who love a good “who to trust or not to trust” book.

Though I had this eARC since February, it took me a lot longer to return to this series than I thought it would. Myths & Mortals is the sequel to Smoke & Summons and picks up the second after the first book concluded.

Myths & Mortals is a hard one for me to rate, because while I LOVE the concept behind the series and I find the characters mildly amusing, I struggled a lot with the execution of this book. I think a big part of this had to do with the author’s writing style. There’s nothing bad about it, but it feels too direct too often. The author also has a tendency to focus on a lot of inner thoughts and emotions. Which again, isn’t a flaw, but I disliked that the reader is continuously told about these tumultuous emotional states, instead of being allowed to observe them and make their own connections.

Another disappointment that this sequel held for me was in the worldbuilding. The first book only shed a few lights on the workings of the city and the ancient Noscon culture. Which was fine, but then the sequel focused on the worldbuilding even less! I think the setting is one of the book’s stronger points, so to see it not given its proper attention made me really sad. I still feel like I barely know anything about this world.

Another sore spot for me were the characters. I don’t know what it is about Sandis’s character, but she just…irks me. It’s refreshing to have a protagonist who is innocent and good-hearted and whose strength comes from her stubbornness and determination instead of stereotypical battle skills, but at the same time I was still annoyed with her. I think my issue with her is that she’s too much of a “special snowflake”; she doesn’t seem to have any flaws. I get that a “pure soul” is the key to humans being vessels, but c’mon, can’t Sandis have some sort of imperfection?

That all being said…that cliffhanger, dude. Part of it was predictable and the ending was sorta rushed, but dang, I wanna know what happens next. I just looked up the summary of the third book, and it *finally* sounds like the plot hinges on delving deeper into the worldbuilding, which I’m excited about. If I can snag an ARC of the third book in the fall, I think I might finish the series, but if not, I don’t think it’s worth tracking down at the library or bookstore. Fingers crossed this book is merely a case of “second book syndrome” and the trilogy will finish strong. Because let’s be real: not much was accomplished in this book and it felt like a distorted echo of the first book’s plot.

In conclusion, I would recommend this series if you’re looking for light fantasy and a quick & easy read, but if the premise of these books don’t intrigue you, they’re probably not worth your time.

Trigger Warnings: slavery, torture/murder (harvesting humans for body parts), minor cutting for summoning (magic), homelessness, and a little bit of emotional manipulation early on.

Actual Rating: 2.5 stars