Sandis has escaped one form of slavery for another. Her loyalty to family has bound her to an uncle she never knew, but now that she does she finds herself internally battling her bond of blood with her own ethics. She thought getting out and reaching her family would solve everything, but it proves only the beginning of her challenges. At the same time she still feels for Rone, despite the betrayal that weighs heavy on her, she just can't let go. Some soul searching leads her to recognize her true power, Sandis begins to realize family may not be only blood, and rallies others around her toward a mission to save others like her.

The first quarter of this is a bit mired in the angst of Sandis feelings that Rone used and betrayed her, yet she herself consistently thinks you should do anything for family, as he did in the past Once she finds her spine, deciding to bring a holy (or perhaps unholy in this case) fight for the vessels, the plot pulled me in - though she still struggles with her personal lines when she must use others to achieve her ends. We also delve into the criminal underworld of the city a great deal more in this volume, learning of other summoners and black markets, as well as more about the Celestial religion, really fleshing out the world in a compelling way. The revelations in the final chapters will definitely keep me going with this series.

3.5 stars for this one.

I enjoyed this sequel more than the first in the series - it brought the story together more cohesively and allowed Sandis to feel like a more rounded character. While this series is not my favorite of Holmberg’s, I am looking forward to the ending in the follow-on book.

I received an ARC from the publisher through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Title: Myths and Mortals
Author: Charlie N. Holmberg
Pages: 288
Release Date: April 16
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, YA
Series or Stand Alone: Book 2 in the Numina Series
People of Color?: Unclear
LGBTQ?: No
Bechdel Test: Yes
Trigger Warning: A lot of blood. A number of rape threats (which are not carried out). Women being held prisoner

I received a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am a huge fan of Charlie Holmberg's work! She moves in a much different direction than her other books and into a more typical YA fantasy adventure series. (I should note that book #1 in this series is currently available on kindleunlimited if you want to get started!). I found book one in the series to feel a bit repetitive at points, but Myths and Mortals was consistently fantastic the whole way through. It was well-placed, an interesting premise, unique characters, and a heartwarming romance. The bad guys were also really well done with a lot of backstory and motivation. The end was a cliff-hanger, so I am anxiously awaiting book three!

The story bounces between the point of view of the two main characters, Sandis and Rone. Sandis is able to escape the evil Kanzen's clutches thanks to her lover/betrayer Rone. Sandis has truly lost everything at this point, including her Numina. To survive she has to rely on Rone again but swears to keep him at arms distance. They work to take down the Grafters, but Kazen continues to outmaneuver them. Sandis finds the strength to stand on her own and take charge. Rone must learn to think about others and work as a team. The group works through mounting chaos and heartbreak with the hope of saving the city which has let them down at every point.

Likes: The magic system was really interesting!
Reminds me of: A little of Smoke & Bones with a mixture of Aladdin thrown in
Recommended for: Anyone who loves fantasy
Ages: suitable for teens and up
Final Thoughts: I would recommend it and cannot wait for book #3!

Aah ! The pain of reading and suggesting a really amazing underrated novel!

Here's my review for Smoke and Summons (#1 of numina trilogy) if you guys wanna read it.

Review

Anyway , we travel with Rone and Sandis where we left off in Smoke and Summons.

Kazen on loose , Riggers and Grafters on the chase , Sandis and Rone have much more to run from before they even think of making up to each other.

Myths and mortals started off kinda slow but (thankfully) didn't have the second book syndrome. The plot wasn't mainstream but Charlie managed to keep us in the edge of the kindle or page (lol) 24×7.

Sandis and Rone had a lot of issues to go through while running and hiding and chasing. We meet a lot of characters on the way old and new. Bastien is one of them. He is another fellow vessel and a really underrated character. He's loyal and aaamazing. Just as smoke and summons , we have a lot of underrated characters , dialogues and moves. I'll try to cover them as much as possible.

Rone and Bastien bonding moments were just outright hilarious (for us) like this.
“Raisin’ the raisins.” Rone crooked an eyebrow. “What?” Bastien shrugged. “It’s a joke.” Rone hesitated before saying, “That . . . was a really bad joke.”

Sandis had loads of character development even though she's irritating at times.
Half of her wanted that door to open. The other half wanted to bar it shut and set a match to the entire flat.

And ofcourse , sandis × Rone relationship was OTP (heart eyes , heart eyes) af.
Sandis could hate him, hit him, berate him. But he couldn’t leave her.

I’ll follow you anywhere, Sandis. To the Arctic Ribbon or the heart of hell.

There is a new character who is almost a replica of Yara Greyjoy from GoT.
Don’t ask me again, or I’ll break your fingers.

Other than the above mentioned amazing things , the plot and world building is awesome. We explore everywhere in a different perspective.

And as usual we have the characters we want to kick their asses and the mysterious ones. Of course, a cliffhanger which wants us craving for more.

PR review of Myths and Mortals by Charlie N Holmberg
NB- I received this book for free via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Myths and Mortals is an engrossing read, that builds on the amazing groundwork set in place by Smoke and Summons. The conflict introduced between Sandis and Rone is thoroughly explored, the cliffhanger book one ends on leads neatly to some of the conflict in Myths and Mortals, and while the pacing at times seemed odd, the book was interesting and engaging from start to finish.
Kazen’s history is hinted at several times in the novel, and more is learnt about the vessels Sandis essentially grew up with. It’s interesting to see her interact with the people who were once her peers, and really highlights the myriad of ways in which she has grown. The growth, temptations and struggles that Sandis faces in this book are well-written, each chosen to test another aspect of her personality. Her relationship with Rone, Talbur, Ireth and the other vessels are all explored in a little more depth, and she once more proves herself as a worthy hero.
Several things she does in this novel are surprising, but foreshadowed so effectively that they make perfect sense. Even though Sandis is a powerful character, it never reads as though she is being given special treatment or unreasonable strength. What she has, she works and suffers for (neatly avoiding the unsatisfying special treatment of many main characters).
Rone had a lot of big character moments in Smoke and Summons, so it makes sense that in Myths and Mortals he takes a second seat to Sandis. That being said, he still faced several challenges, and came to a couple of important realisations over the course of this novel, so Rone by no mean stagnates.
Bastien’s introduction in this book was interesting and effective, but he will most likely become more important in book three of the trilogy, as there’s a lot about him that remains shrouded in mystery. His dad-jokes and helpful information served an important role in this book, providing comic relief and effectively moving the plot along. More information about his origins and motivations could make him a more relatable character, but he served his role of supporting character in Myths and Mortals very well.
A lot happens in this book, no seriously, a lot. The finale is a rollercoaster of emotions and occurrences, with a huge twist and several key reveals. The cliffhanger that Smoke and Summons ended on is nothing compared to that of Myths and Mortals, book three can’t come soon enough!
Myths and Mortals develops the world and mythology of the world of the Numina Trilogy, with the Dark Market, rules of the mob, hierarchy of the church and corruption of the police force all coming into play at various points to move the plot along.
One minor complaint is that the book almost seems to follow the same path and characters as Smoke and Summons, even when it doesn’t make as much narrative sense. It may have been more effective for several scenes to be combined, or just be shuffled around a little bit to improve the story’s flow and drive tension with more near misses with Myths and Mortals’s primary antagonist.
All in all, Myths and Mortals was an amazing read, a fitting sequel to Smoke and Summons, and is sure to build anticipation of book three. I’d recommend the Numina Trilogy to fans of Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy (Sandis is actually a lot like Elend), the Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner, or Steeplejack by AJ Hartley. Myths and Mortals would be a great choice for readers who enjoy entertaining, action packed urban fantasy, with a character driven plot.

Building on the story of Smoke and Summons, this volume tackles a few of the questions left unanswered in the first book, while bringing up even more. The world continues to be full of grit and ash, with darker shadows growing in the background. Holmberg continues to push outside the comfort zone of her previous works--to stirring effect.

I'm a bit conflicted--some parts of the book were a bit hard to get through, others I couldn't read fast enough; some characters were underwhelming, others took a strong hold on my emotions. In the end, though, I left this book eager to read the next volume in the trilogy, and that feeling speaks for itself. All in all, a solid 3.5 star sequel.

Unlike some other sequels, this book almost certainly requires you to have read book one to really get the most out of the plot. A lot of the character development and plot points hang off the events of the first book, most significantly the relationship between the two POV characters Rone and Sandis. Keep that in mind when you’re thinking about reading this. I actually don’t think this will be too much of an issue since the majority of readers are likely to be Kindle Unlimited readers and you may as well read both books if you can read them for ‘free’. However, if you’re a ‘read the strange thing that came through in the Kindle deal email’ like me then you should certainly look to read Smoke and Summons first.

Let’s talk about Rone and Sandis for a moment, since the emotional arc of the book is tied around these two. This book does on occasion walk into that difficult ‘oh just talk to each other’ place that second books can so often get to. I’m not sure if it was made clear enough why they couldn’t just explain their feelings to one another for any reason other than stubbornness. Perhaps I’m being overly picky but that is one of the things that can so clearly mark out a sequel and it’s a particular pet peeve of mine. Having said that, if that kind of angst building towards something more is something that you happen to enjoy then I think this would be an excellent book for you – to each their own!

This book didn’t go quite so far into explaining the metaphysic of the world as I might have liked, it still isn’t quite clear where the creatures that are summoned into human vessels come from and why Sandis has such a connection with hers. I am assuming that these things will be explained in book three and that I won’t be left with Lemony Snicket levels of untied threads – yes I am still bitter. Since I know book three will presumably be out at some point soon (if the current track record is anything to go by) then I’m not too bothered about having to wait for an explanation.

What I did think was good was that this book took the human depravity of the first book and pushed it even further. I can’t really say too much more without spoiling anything but suffice to say this wasn’t just a continuation of the plot of book one, this goes further – and it’s a little unsettling.

This book has Holmberg’s familiar ‘easy-to-read’ style that’s so familiar from The Paper Magician and so forth, but it dwells far more on the darker details than the previous trilogy did. What I think is good is that Holmberg manages to balance the more romantic aspect of this story with the darker fantasy portions, without drifting into the more weird territory that we went to in Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet. It’s a good read.

I ended up giving this book three out of five stars, I definitely enjoyed reading it but I wouldn’t be in a hurry to re-read it any time soon. I’ll be very interested to see how these books fare as a completed series and where these characters end up!

My rating: 3/5 stars

I received a free digital advanced review copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

*** Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ***



The follow-up to Smoke and Summons continues straight on. Sandis is no longer connected to her demon of choice, but is safe and free from the (presumed dead) Kazen. Rone is still separated from his mother and running out of time to cross the border and escape the troubled country.

The story focuses more on the characters' feelings than before (where the first book was largely aimless wandering and fighting), with Sandis torn between staying with the only family she has (her estranged uncle) and knowing that he is using her for her powers, as her former master had done. Rone is desperate to escape the country but cannot bear to be parted from Sandis, and there is unspoken tension between them.

The book sees more of the underworld of the city explored as the main characters team up with some undesirables to try and overcome their main enemy.

There are some typical twists and turns along the way, most of which are fairly predictable. The action sequences are good, but I found myself speed-reading the final quarter just to get finished.

A decent story and even though short feels like it could have been edited a bit more. I think I will read the concluding part when it is released, as the ending of this book teased what could be some excited conflicts.

Myths & Mortals (Numina Trilogy,Book 2)
by Charlie N. Holmberg
due 4-16-2019
47 North
4.5 / 5.0

Charlie N. Holmberg has done it again! This series, Numina Trilogy, started out strong, but this one is even better. Her fantastic world building draws you into a place of fascination, mystique and intrigue. Of good and evil. Of Celestials and Noscons; Grifters and Riggers. This is world full of choice and full of emotional tugs, it carries a message and an incentive to think for yourself, and what defines good and evil for you....and how can you be sure....
The last books leaves Rone with hard choices and facing his growing affection for Sandis. In this one we learn more about Sandis life, her family conflicts, and see her become increasingly distrustful. We are also introduced to a new vessel, Bastien and we continue the search and chase for Kazan.
This is a strong and fun series, with a deep yet subtle message that is unforgettable.
Thanks to 47 North for this ebook ARC for review.
#MythsAndMortals #netgalley

Thanks netgalley for the ARC

All I can say is I loved this book. It was exciting, fun and entertaining. It was so original and new that it was a fun read.

Thank you, Netgalley and 47North, for the ARC of Charlie Holmberg's Myths and Mortals. I am so pleased to jump right into the series, with books one and two being available for ARC review within days of each other. I am not sure if book three will be available with the same alacrity, since there is no information on Holmberg's website, but book two left me wanting more! I recently reviewed book one of this trilogy, Smoke and Summons, so the details were fresh in my mind as I read through Myths. 

My Take

Book two picks up very rapidly from where book one left off, with Sandis and Rone meeting her uncle and Sandis having the "aha!" moment that she really cannot trust a single person in her life - not her would-be boyfriend, and not her only remaining family. From this scene on, it is non-stop action, a refreshing pace compared to book one's stop-and-go chasing and hiding. New characters are introduced, old ones are more properly fleshed out, and the city slowly devolves into more chaos.

What I liked

The character development. One of my biggest complaints about the last book was how flat Sandis and Rone were, cardboard cutouts filled with tropes. Sandis was the virginal vessel that needed saving, and Rone was the antihero rogue with good intentions and bad actions. Now, they have both evolved. Sandis, while still vulnerable, is beginning to make her own choices, for better and for worse. Rone actually understands what went wrong and is trying to rectify the problem. It was a pleasure to read them grow, both separately and together. 

The new characters. It is funny that the two best things about this book are character driven, since last book was all about setting the scene and the ambiance. Here, the new cast of characters are all interesting and have full backstories. There is Bastien, the new vessel and ally, as well as a street gang that isn't in Kazen's pocket. I am looking forward to see how they fit in the end.


What I liked less

The Villains. Kazen and Sandis' uncle are both driven by very different motivations, but at the end of the day, they are both fairly one-sided. Holmberg did such a good job fleshing out her heroes in this installation, and I hope that she can do the same for her villains in book three.

The predictability. I really did enjoy this book, but many of the would-be twists were a bit predictable, just based on the characters' motivations and motivations earlier in the book and in book one. I wouldn't say this is a deal breaker, just a little surprising since most of Holmberg's other books are pretty surprising.

Conclusion

To say I enjoyed Myths more than Smoke would probably be an understatement; this book is what I wanted this series to be. There is action, mythology, character development, and more cool numen. I can't wait for book three! Four waves out of five; preorder your copy today to have it by April 16!

Feedback
Thank goodness this book picks up right where the first one left off. Right after finding out that the person who hired Rone is actually Sandis’ uncle, their world gets turned upside down. The amaranth is gone which means Kazen is still probably alive and just so much. I was honestly expecting something a little different that what was given - but that’s not a bad thing. After figuring out that Talbur is a total tool (no, duh) Sandis leaves his home and, unwillingly, goes back to Rone. Together they are determined to find out what is going on with Kazen and to free the other vessels. I really like the turn this book took because I wasn’t expecting the events that happened. There were revelations and plot twists that were surprising. Again, Holmberg works fantastically in such a small scenery with her vivid story telling details. I love how intricate she gets without it being too much. The story just flows and kept me on the edge of my seat. Oh, and you thought book one had a cliffhanger. Well, let me tell you that this cliffhanger is not nice.
Sandis and Rone. Ugh, Charlie is the queen of slow burn romances. Rone tries so hard to get back in the good graces of Sandis but she is too hurt by his betrayal. Even though it was extremely frustrating, it made sense the way their relationship didn’t heal right at the beginning. One of my favorite thing about Sandis is how vulnerable she is but at the same time she is so smart and strong. It sounds like it should be a contradiction but it’s not and it works. I still love Rone. The way that he tries to be so tough but inside he is just a loving soul. I’m glad we get to know a little more about the other vessels and some new characters that really bring more depth to the story. And then there are the few Kazen chapters which are just, wow. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for the next book.

Final Thoughts
Overall, Myth & Mortals by Charlie N. Holmberg was the perfect succession to this story. Tensions are still high everywhere and their quest is nowhere near over. There are twists and turns throughout this book that kept me wanting even more. Sandis and Rone are everything and their relationship builds even more in this book, even if it takes a bit. The additional characters really encompass this world more. I highly recommend continuing this series but be prepared for another cliffhanger that will make you want book 3 in your hands immediately!

**I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.**
As always, Ms. Holmberg's masterful creativity continues to astound me. She has picked up were she left off from her previous book and the story flows, full of forbidden magic and twisted hearts. It's a story steeped in myths and legends in this world-building series that changes the reader's perceptive of their own thoughts on Good and Evil. Her characters will continue to grip you and pull you in to their story until you can't put the book down.

This book definitely made the progress that the first book needed. I feel like Smoke and Summons was more of an introduction of cat and mouse. Then once you jump into Myth and Mortals that's where all the action and development happens. I love that Myths and Mortals left off right where Smoke and Summons ended. I really enjoyed the introduction of new characters. The characters have a stronger voice, bigger battles to face, and you never know who you can count on. The connection that Sandis has to Ireth, the Numen realm, and the mystery behind it all is really what drove my interest in this book. I can't wait to read more from this world.

Myths and Mortals is book 2 in the Numina trilogy.

I enjoyed these books as they sort of remind me of Naruto a little (the nine tails, Kurama, possession). At the beginning I thought the story was a little slow then things started picking up a little. The ending was part mind-blowing and part-predictable, at least for me.

Overall, would love to see how things play out.

The story was excellent. Engaging, fast paced, and unique. All things I look for in a read. I’m excited to read more from this author.

This has been posted on my blog, Goodreads, and other social media

http://www.starangelsreviews.com/2019/03/review-by-carol-myths-and-mortals.html

This book was as exciting as the first one. I love Charlie Holmberg books and this one met all my expectations.
It's entertaining, engaging and it keeps you hooked till the last page.
I look forward to reading the next installment in this series.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book, all opinions are mine.

Book #2 in the series kicks off with bang - it follows straight on from the end of Smoke and Summons and the pacing doesn't let up. Sandis has a lot to work through - layers of betrayal from (let's face it) everyone in her life so far, not to mention her deep-seated belief that Ireth is more than the monster she knows she should fear, but instead feels an unwavering connection to...

We see Rone grow as a character, dealing with the guilt of his actions and his need to do right by Sandis. But new dangers are forever coming at the duo, meaning Rone and Sandis' relationships is at a pivotal point - for themselves and the wider world. Personally, I love Rone; his devotion to Sandis and earning her forgiveness is heart-pinchingly fierce and unrelenting. On the flip side we have Sandis, whose loneliness and uncertainty is so viscerally painfully I wanted to reach into the pages and give her all the hugs.

I can't wait for book #3. Things I want to see: more Rone (obviously) and a more kick-ass Sandis (that girl has power and I want it unapologetically unleashed).

I didn't like this one as much as Smoke and Summons. It seemed rushed, but slow at the same time. I feel like not that much happened. Although I have to say the last 10% was quick and eventful. I will definitely read the next book after that ending!