Book 2 in Lori Lee's SHAMANBORN TRILOGY, Broken Web is a fun rollercoaster of world-building as we begin to explore more of the land of Thiy and Sirscha's place in it as a soulrender. While at times it was a bit slow-paced, overall I really loved it. I enjoyed getting introduced to the politicking of the other kingdoms, and seeing the world grow as problems become more complex. Also, that ending?! Holy god. Any issues I had with pacing got solved right then and there. My last thought: I love how the focus of this book is on friendship, not romance. I've found a lot of times that relationships between characters in other series sometimes feel cheapened because they are all relegated to romance/romance is held up as the pinnacle of connections and other friendships are cast aside. Not true here; the friendships between Sirscha and the other characters were built up so well and so thoroughly that I really felt the care they had for one another. Overall I recommend this book, and I'm excited for book 3!

I’m falling more in love with Theyen everytime he pops up! His snarkiness and secret kind heart makes for a great book boyfriend. The story picks up right where it left off, constantly moving forward, and keeping me on my toes. Definitely a mix of ToG and Avatar the Last Airbender.

The characters came to life in this second book. The female mc’s internal struggle was written so well. I felt like this book was so detailed but also fast paced. I also love it when I don’t know who to trust in a story. Everytime the MC had to trust anyone new I was in suspense (but in a good way)! Looooooved the world building and I’m obsessed with the magic system. Loooved this book. Looove this series.

In "Broken Web," Lori M. Lee skillfully combines the mesmerizing magic found in the Grishaverse with the thrilling energy of Throne of Glass, resulting in a captivating narrative that explores themes of friendship, familial ties, and inner strength.

I'm particularly drawn to the way friendship is vividly depicted throughout this series. Sirscha and her newfound family showcase the uniqueness of each bond, demonstrating that love can take many forms.

The storyline is entirely imaginative and intricate. Lee skillfully propels the narrative forward, unveiling new mysteries and revealing hidden truths in this tangled web of histories, legends, and myths (and trust me, it gets intense).

The characters themselves have become some of my favorites. They're endearing and unwaveringly supportive of each other, no matter the circumstances.

I'm eagerly anticipating the next installment, teetering on the edge of anticipation!

Thanks to NetGalley and Page Street Publishing for providing me the review copy!

This was the sequel to Forest of Souls which I really enjoyed! We get to follow Sirscha as she seeks to stop the Soulless, a soulrender like herself who has awoken from a centuries long magical imprisonment. She travels to the empire of Nuvalyn portraying herself as a soulguide rather than a soulrender which is punishable by death. Despite the danger, she is willing to risk her life to stop the Soulless and save her best friend Saengo from the rot that is slowly killing her.

I was so happy to get more about the relationship between Sirscha and Saengo in the sequel! Not only did we learn about their deep friendship but we also got more Theyen which is a character I love. The world building is amazing as are the action packed fight scenes. I also enjoyed the twists that were included as that just adds to the overall experience. I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book!

*3.5 stars rounded up*

The strongest element of the Shamanborn series is the relationship between Sircha and Saengo. I love their interactions and am I always excited to see them on the same page together. Unfortunately, Saengo wasn't in this one as much as I'd hope but I still loved when she was there. A lot Sircha's actions are for Saengo, it is one of the main reasons she puts herself against ancient magic that threatens her and everyone else, as well as having an ability that hasn't been seen in centuries. Saengo is also under threat because of her being tied to Sircha as a familiar.

The threat of a centuries old Shaman, who's untouchable and hasn't been seen in literal hundreds of years to the people in the series, is a great driving force for a lot of conflict. Where kingdoms are already against each other, with a tyrannical Queen in the empire hunting Shaman and the forest of souls bordering others - creating tension.

I felt like this book suffered from middle book syndrome, where the first book was great and this one seemed to drag on a little bit too much. I enjoyed the threat of the Soulless and learning how he has been connected to prominent families while also dealing with Prince Meilek's Queen sister at the same time. However, it moved too slowly for my liking - even though I enjoyed this lore building.

Overall, I still love the dark atmosphere, politics, and Sircha's and Saengo's relationship. I think it's still a great book, there was just something missing for me to fully love it.

This is a phenomenal book 2! Usually I find the second book in a series to be slower, needing more dense worldbuilding and setting up future character arcs. That is not the case with Broken Web!

We pick up right after the close of Forest of Souls and dive right into Sirscha struggling with who and what she is. Right and wrong, friend and foe, are all unclear. There is some terrific backstory on the Soulless and on the kingdoms at play. Some friendships grow while others crumble. The pacing was consistent, and the plot interesting. I’m so glad I got to this one in advance of the release of book 3!

I was slightly underwhelmed by the first book, Forest of Souls, but this sequel hit the spot for me! I did not feel like I was connecting with the characters in the first book, but I am starting to understand them further and really root for them now. Sirscha's friendship with Saengo (sisterly affection or more than friendship, who knows?) is developing, the inscrutable sassy Theyen just gets better and the stakes are just getting higher.

While I am slightly frustrated by Sirscha's roundabout character development as she repeats mistakes from the first book, it is acknowledged and makes me really intrigued by the upcoming third book.

Book Review

Title: Broken Web by Lori M. Lee (Shamanborn Book 2)

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 4.25 Stars

The opening to Broken Web picks up almost immediately where the first book ended, with Sirscha and Saengo along with Prince Meilek travelling to the Nuvali capital, Mirrim. There they hope to find the answers they are seeking about the Soulless and how to destroy him once and for all but also to find Kendara and heal Saengo. Prince Meilek isn’t travelling all the way with them as he needs to reach out to his allies before returning home to deal with his sister but he and Sirscha will stay in touch. In the capital they are taken to the temple of light where they meet Kyshia, the Ember Princess and the second most powerful shaman in the empire. Through her they learn the empire has known about the Soulless for centuries and they now want Sirscha to dispatch him quickly and quietly before the secret can get out which infuriates both Sirscha and Saengo. However, Sirscha is still pretending to be a soulguide and can’t blow her cover.

Within the Nuvali empire, Sirscha seems glimpses of Kendara but she doesn’t make herself known yet. Meanwhile, they meet with they try to track down Phaut’s father in order to return her sword to him but he is away with family following the funeral so it will be returned to her sister who is a guard at the Bright Palace. Sirscha does end up meeting Kendara who explains that her mother was saved by Kendara when they tried to kill her for being a soulrender until she lost control of her powers after giving birth to Sirscha. Kendara took Sirscha hid her identity and her own in order to fulfil the promise she made to Sirscha’s mother. However, Kendara wants to her to flee with Saengo and not help the empire that took so much from all of them but Sirscha knows that the Soulless is a bigger threat and can’t do that pretty much ending their relationship. The Soulless also reaches out to her in a dream to see what her intentions are and urges her to ask questions about him since the version of the truth she has been told might not be the right one. She soon learns though the Evewyn is making moves to attack the Kazan empire and since Theyen is engaged to the Ember Princess they must respond as one.

The web of secrets is ever expanding with everything that Sirscha is learning. She knows that there is a potential alliance between Queen Meilyr and the Soulless which Prince Meilek almost confirms but he does mention she would want assurances to prevent the Soulless turning against her. After another attempted assassination by a Shadowblessed, they decide to turn this one over to Theyen to be questioned while Prince Meilek returns to Evewyn. Sirscha is also going to head south to learn what she can about the alliance between the Queen and the Soulless but promises not to kill despite wanting to. It seems that there are several people that either don’t want Meilek, Sirscha or both around and that might be an issue with what is to come. Sirscha also needs to learn more about the Soulless before he became what he is now and that might only be done by talking to him again.

However, when Sirscha gets permission to travel south with Theyen to meet Queen Meilyr’s army stationed off the coast she jumps at the chance. She ends up going with Theyen’s party to answer he summons to talk, leader to leader, which the Queen will only accept if Sirscha is there. Everyone knows it is a trap going into it but Theyen claims to have a trick or two up his sleeve. On the ship, Sirscha immediately senses the Soulless’ magic coming from a talisman around the Queen’s waist and she soon realises that it houses the soul of the Soulless’ familiar which is the reassurance Prince Meilek was talking about. Sirscha does try to destroy it but her magic can’t reach it, I think the cage the soul is housed in is made from the bones of Sunspears, the only dragon-like animal whose inert ability was to stop a soulrender from taking its soul which would make sense since Theyen mentioned them earlier. The Queen offers a deal to Sirscha where she will give her and Saengo full pardons if they turn over Prince Meilek to her but Sirscha refuses not trusting a thing the Queen says. This leads to a brief battle where Theyen summons wyverns to attack the ships but Sirscha accidentally exposes herself as a soulrender and has to flee with Saengo into the mountains of Kazan. Sirscha is now also aware of the fact that the assassination attempts weren’t for her but they were the Queen’s attempt at capturing Saengo as that would give her the means to control Sirscha.

On the run, Sirscha and Saengo head back towards the Dead Wood as few would dare to follow them into the trees especially now Ronin is dead. However, Saengo wants to go home and convince her father to help Prince Meilek which Sirscha knows is necessary but she also doesn’t want Saengo to leave. When they finally part Sirscha heads back to Spinner’s End alone but it takes less than a day before the Soulless knows she is there and draws her to him over the next few days Sirscha learns all she can about the talisman and the Soulless, learning who he was before he became the monster he is and she sympathises with him in a sense but she knows to have any chance of stopping him she needs to be stronger, far stronger than she is now. While training in The Dead Wood to unleash her power in ways she hasn’t before, Theyen appears before tackling her into a shadow gate.

This book is definitely moving at a faster pace than the last one and I can’t wait to see how Lori M. Lee sets up the final book. The pieces are coming together but it still feels like Sirscha is missing a vital piece of information as we sped towards the climax. With every passing day the Soulless is getting more powerful and they now have a vengeful Queen to deal with as Prince Meilek makes open moves against her finally standing up for what he truly believes. The biggest thing to happen for me personally was Sirscha realises that she isn’t alone and that she does have a family but it is one she chose in Saengo, Theyen and Prince Meilek rather than one she was given by blood but it is just as powerful. She also majorly gets past the fear of her craft and while she has used it to kill a person since being on the Queen’s ship she has gotten way more powerful enough to begin to challenge the Soulless.

In the final few chapters we see the pieces come together as Sirscha frees the soul in the talisman only to realise it wasn’t the Soulless’ familiar but his brother who he wanted to restore to life. For that betrayal he kills the Queen and Sirscha finally understands that the trees are his familiars and he has more than one thanks to the experiments the Empire performed on him. Afterwards, Prince Meilek is in charge and summoning his allies back to the capital and Sirscha now has to think of a way to truly destroy the Dead Wood once and for all. Overall, I really enjoyed the character arcs in this instalment and it managed to avoid the dreaded middle book syndrome. I honestly can’t wait to get into Calling of Light and see how the final showdown between Sirscha and the Soulless goes.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Broken Web is the sequel to a really underrated YA fantasy. Yes, this installment is slower than its predecessor but it's steady. I prefer this type of character development because it's realistic. I also love the dimensions given to a majority of the rest of the characters. Good and evil isn't a scale. Choices are complex and not everything is as it seems to be.
Full review on my YouTube channel.

Sadly, this book just didn't get me to read it. I think it is more just me right now and not the book itself because I really enjoyed the first in the series. This is certainly one that is going to be put onto my to be read later shelf.

You know, I wouldn't say that I didn't enjoy Broken Web. I very much enjoyed it for many of the reasons that I enjoyed Forest of Souls, but it just didn't give me the same gripping feeling as Forest did and that 's why we aren't at 4 stars here. That being said, I enjoyed seeing the continuation of Sirscha's story as she tries to recruit allies to defeat Queen Mei and the Soulless. I loved the dichotomy between Sircha and the Soulless and the similarities they had to each other. The scenes featuring the two of them were some of my favorite scenes in the book and it was a fascinating dynamic there. Once again, the book's strongest point is the friendship between Saengo and Sirscha and how the love and support each other. Well-written relationships between young women are so refreshing to read and are sometimes better than any potential romance, and I feel like that's what we get in this series which is great. Whenever a book can stand on its own two feet without a romantic storyline and keep the attention of the reader I consider that a really impressive feat. Once again, Lee impressed me with her mastery of her setting. Broken Web is a story of picking up the broken pieces of the consequences of our actions and how the choices made during that process can define a person and the world to come.

I really loved the first book but this one felt a bit slower paced for me. The story is interesting but I struggled because there is no romance 🙈 I feel like I need that chemistry and tension to really capture my interest. This book has great relationships and bonds but I wish there was some love vibes lol.

Because it had been so long since I had read the first book in the series " Forest of Souls" it took me a long time to figure out what was going on and to remember who everyone was.
This book continues straight off where we left off in book one and takes us on some adventures I definitely had not anticipated.
where the writing was still as well done as it was in book one, I found myself struggling to figure out what the exact conflicts where at certain points as there was so many sub stories taking place with so many of the "tribes". This took my focus off the main plot and mission in the book and found it a little confusing at times.

Unfortunatly this book just falls a little short for me. I would have like to have seen a clearer plot.

Thank you to NetGalley and Page Street Publishing for sending me an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Forest of Souls was one of my favourite reads of 2020 and I was super excited for this sequel. However, it did disappoint me in places. Some of it was boring and slow and I didn’t feel engaged with the story. That being said, I still loved the book and I loved the characters once more, I just would have liked to see more character development. I can’t wait for the third instalment!

Broken Web picks up right where Forest of Souls ends. It immediately had a different feel to me, focusing more on ruling the kingdom, rebellion, and political maneuvers. Whereas I associated Forest of Souls more with secrets behind closed doors and clashes of will. Broken Web examines all the hidden pieces of the past, those who conceal them, and take choices away from others. It asks - what is the price for rebellion and magic, for wanting to set wrongs to right? I was immediately immersed in the action and swept back into the world.

While I was immediately loving be back in the world, I felt like in the middle the pacing lulled a bit. Nothing that stopped me from continuing, but it had me wondering if this was going to be a classic, "second book syndrome" of a trilogy. Until the last 25% had me absolutely reeling. The pace picked up and hooked me again for the finale. Even though there was action within Broken Web, I felt like this sequel was a bit more introspective. It felt more thoughtful as it questions how monstrous our enemies are - and how human they could become. All while also subtly probing at Saengo and Sirscha's relationship.

Thank you so much, NetGalley and Page Street Publishing and Page Street Kids, for the chance to read and review this book!

The Soulless has woken from his imprisonment and now he lurks in the Dead Wood, recovering his strength and looking for Sircha, while plotting his revenge. Sircha is journeying with Saengo, to the shaman empire of Nuvalyn, hiding her identity. If someone discovers she's a soulrender, as the Soulless and not a soulguide, she will be executed. Determined to stop the rot that's killing her best friend and familiar, to find the Soulless' familiar, Sircha would do anything. With Queen Meilyr who wants to destroy the magical kingdoms, Sircha is caught up between enemies, loyalties and lies and in her journey she will discover who her enemies really are and who is part of her found family.

I LOVED reading Broken Web! I was so fascinated and in love with the worldbuilding since the first book and now, through Sircha's eyes, the reader is able to see more of the shaman's country, getting to know more about the past's crimes and lies. Sircha is a wonderfully complex character, weighed down by her secret, by her connection with the Soulless, her determination and desperation in saving Saengo's life, her desire to belong to somewhere and the struggle to know enemies from friends in a complex and intricate battle between kingdoms.

It's a tale of sisterhood and destiny, power and lies, mysteries and clues and Sircha is surrounded by complex characters, like Theyen, Meilek and, of course, Saengo. I love her bond, how much they love one other, what they would do to help, protect and support each other.
The Soulless, Queen Meilyr, are creepy and intense antagonists, but, above all, the Soulless is such an intriguing character and I really want to know more about him and his motives.
The characterization, the worldbuilding, the story full of secrets and mysteries and plot twists, Broken Web is a compelling and amazing sequel and I can't wait to know what will happen next!

Broken Web is the sequel to Forest of Souls, where we meet Sirscha and her best friend, Saengo. Sirscha has now set the Soulless free, and the peace between the nations of Thiy is crumbling without Ronnin to keep the deadwood in check. Sirscha has been deemed a soul guide, but she hides the dark secret that she a soul render, which makes her no better than the soulless destroying the world. The broken web is a political-based fantasy, and Sirscha is determined to discover what the empire is hiding. With a brother and sister at odds on best solving the problems plaguing the world, Sirscha is determined to make it right. I am highly invested in how everything plays out in the final book.

A worthy sequel to one of my favourite books of 2020.
Filled with intrigue, politics, magic, found family, twists and turns, betrayals, banter, big dog/horse/dragon sidekicks, and cliffhangers.
Can’t wait to read the final book.

Fantastic sequel to Forest of Souls. I love the found family dynamics and Sirscha is great heroine – very easy to root for. It’s also really refreshing to see YA fantasy that is politically driven rather than relying on a love interest/ romance to drive the plot. The dynamics between friends and allies is so rewarding here. Highly recommend this series.