IT'S HERE!! The follow up to Road to Ruin. While I found the book slow to start, the build up made the pay off that much better. So many things I did not see coming. I think I struggled a bit at first but once I got into the story, I got into it and could not put the book down. If you enjoyed the first part of this duology, you're going to want to grab this one immediately upon publication tomorrow.

Road to Ruin completely stole my heart last year and Flight of the Fallen was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I was minutes away from debasing myself in the inboxes of a publicist begging for an advance copy when my NetGalley approval came in. So major thank you to whoever at Saga Press is responsible for approving these before I embarrassed both of us.
With any highly anticipated sequel, there is always that fear going in about whether it will live up to the highest of pedestals that it has been placed on. And much like Jin, I'm scared of heights.
FEARS WERE UNFOUNDED THOUGH, I LOVED THIS.
Kadrin, my sweet himbo prince, I would die for you. (I would not die for Jin or Reena, they are badasses who can take care of themselves). The characters continue to be amazing and I loved some of the redemption arcs we got. And the setting? Still so fucking cool.

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year and I’m so bummed it didn’t work for me. I ended up Dnfing this one at 50 percent. I feel like everything I loved in book one is missing from this book. I did see some people say that this is going to be a trilogy now instead of a duology in which case it would make sense that the second book feels a little slow. I was just expecting more of the Mad Max style world that felt so unique to this series and I thought it was missing that.

I know a lot of fantasy and scifi readers that would love this so I plan on pitching it to those audiences.

Flight of the Fallen by Hana Lee is compulsively readable! I flew through book one in the Magebike Courier series and could not wait to dive into book two! Flight of the Fallen was just as captivating as Road to Ruin! I don't know what it is about this weather-ravaged world that stuck with me, but I often find myself thinking of this series from time to time. The premise is so unique, and Hana Lee does an excellent job of following through on that promise of a great story! Please pick this up if you're looking for a b0ok that can give you some hope during these weird and awful times we're in right now.

Picking up shortly after Road to Ruin leaves off, Flight of the Fallen is a solid follow-up that delivers more of the mana-fueled adventures found in the first book. I think most fans of the first book will have a good time with this one, but it didn't leave me entirely satisfied. At the close of this duology, I still have a lot of questions.

A solid follow up/end to the duology! This one has a bit of a slower build up than the first in the series, but it pays off with a lot of cool reveals and an action-packed climax. It feels like there's still room for more to be explored in this world, but I finished feeling satisfied with this as the end of the series. (Though looking at the descriptions on NetGalley vs. Goodreads, I'm actually not sure whether it's meant to be a duology or trilogy?)

Also, I love Kadrin and was delighted to get even more of him in this one! And I really enjoyed the complexity of the other side characters, especially Sou-Zell.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

Flight of the Fallen is the second book in the Magebike Courier duology.

This was a great follow up to a book that I picked up on a whim last year. A book characterized as a queer Mad Max inspired fantasy peaked my interest. I thought the world is especially imaginative as well as the characters. No characters felt wasted in the book. They all had important roles towards the outcome of this story.

I found myself not wanting to put this one down and by the ending of the book, I was satisfied with the conclusion.

Hana Lee has a knack for writing strong characters and I actually enjoyed this second installment more than the first. This is worth a read if you like dystopian type fantasy with a love story.

3.5 stars!

Thanks to Netgalley and Saga for providing an eARC in exchange for this honest review.

I originally read Road to Ruin as part of a quest to read all the books allegedly targeted in the Cait Corrain scandal, and it stood out as my favorite of the bunch. This was mostly due to a combination of balanced worldbuilding (neatly straddling the line between originality and homage) and a compelling, polyamorous main dynamic. Thankfully, those two factors are still going strong in Flight of the Fallen, which picks up shortly after the last book and finds our heroes struggling with a refugee crisis, the rise of religious zealotry, and either the loss or presence of their magic “Talents”, depending on the character. After they hear of a not-so-mythical lost city that could be the solution to these problems, they set out to find it while also struggling to balance the political unrest at home.

Overall, this was a worthy Part 2 of the duology. Road to Ruin's weakest point was its messy third act, so I was pleasantly surprised that Flight of the Fallen's third act is neater, and does a decent job earning its ending. Another high point was that this book delved into a lot more worldbuilding, though as a consequence of this there are a lot more characters and not always enough for them to do. Kadrin in particular felt superfluous to a lot of the action, though I enjoyed him as a character. (One WOULD have to be a kind, empathetic, idealistic, and hot as hell prince to somehow bag BOTH of these really cool heroines.) It rankled a little that, for a book whose theme is ostensibly "people born without magical abilities are just as important and worthy as people born with them," the other characters sure did leave him behind a bunch due to his lack of magical talent.

Of course, some of the meatiest arcs and/or most fun qualities are given to the side characters. It was nice to see more of Falka, Sou-Zell, and Eliesen, along with some new ones. And of course there was once again some satisfying dinosaur-related action, which I appreciated.

The ending of Flight of the Fallen isn’t interested in overexplaining itself, and if this series ended up as the next Fourth Wing or whatever, there would be umpteen Youtube video essays called “flight of the fallen ENDING EXPLAINED.” But of course this series is far better written than that one, and takes bigger risks. It's not perfect, but it's highly readable and I’d say most of those risks pay off here. 3.5 stars rounded up!

A great sequel to round out a solid, action-packed dystopian science fantasy duology. Also canon polyamory!!

All four of our POV characters had something interesting and unique to say (even if I wanted to yeet Sou-Zell into the sun on more than one occasion) and brought a totally different perspective to the story at hand. We dealt with grief, disability (sort of? This is kind of complicated… in a world where magic is “normal” and someone loses theirs, that would be a disability in-world?), challenging abusers, PTSD, thrilling fights against dinosaur-like creatures, politics, religious fanaticism, revolution, the refugee crisis, climate change (kind of??), and more.

This felt way more balanced than the first book, with better pacing across our POVs. Hana Lee will be an author to watch

An excellent follow up to the cliffhanger that was book one (Road to Ruin). I loved how the characters' relationships developed and how each of their arcs progressed as we learned more about the world and uncovered some big worldbuilding secrets. The premise and the vibes of this series continue to be immaculate, and initially I thought this was a duology but I see now it's being marketed as a trilogy which makes me very excited to see what else the characters get up to! I definitely recommend if you're looking for an adult SFF with unique approaches to magic, technology, and also dinosaurs! A huge thank you to Saga and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an eARC in exchange for my thoughts!

DNF @ 51%

i tried to give this book a chance. i liked the beginnings of the first book, the last chunk had many issues, and unfortunately all of the issues i had with the first book are present in this book. with the annoying addition of trying to write witty humor as a form of character personality, but it comes off as cringy and eye-rolling

zero chemistry between the main characters, i still don’t understand the magic system, and the political intrigue is nonexistent.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Good fiction takes an empathetic but discerning look at the world and tackles the hard questions. Great fiction does that and manages to be engaging.

At 452 pages, you’d think this book might drag at points, but no. I can count the number of novels I’ve blazed through like this on one hand. With the sequel to Road to Ruin, Hana Lee has gifted us another vibrant science fantasy epic, full of vivid characters, packed with sharp dialogue, and threaded with twists I guarantee you won’t see coming. (The things I’d do to get an adaptation of this duology…)

Few series indeed feel this satisfying. Lee ties together all the threads they introduced in book one with incredible skill, weaving a gut-punch of an ending with a generous helping of sorely needed hope. There are comfort reads that transport you somewhere strange and magical, and there are reads that comfort because they illustrate how to survive impossible situations. I’m delighted to report that Flight of the Fallen is both.

Trust me. You won’t want to miss this.

I've been looking forward to this follow up, and I'm happy to say that it keeps up the tone and pitch from the last book, leans into it hard, and actually gives us some fun unexpected development between characters you wouldn't expect. AND we get a poly happily ever after, which I will admit to being very happy about. Highly recommend this duology.

Even before I finished Road to Ruin, I knew I needed to get my hands on Flight of the Fallen as soon as possible! The world Hana Lee has created draws me in and I just do not want to leave, even with the violence and horror and danger inherent. And the characters!! I love Jin, Reena, and Kadrin all so much, plus all the other characters? The nuance and complexity of so many of them! I also loved the way O’s observations help flesh out the world and also had an element of mystery of what exactly is going on. I’m starting to have some Theories about the gods and where people came from after the ending, and I cannot wait to see what’s going to happen next. Honestly, one of the best parts of this book has been Sou-Zell’s development and the complexity of his character. He’s one I’m excited to see how things play out with. There’s so many wonderful elements of this story that I kept jumping on and exclaiming over, especially as pieces came together to form a more full picture. I also really liked how this subtly played with paired gods and how history will, over time, vilify and erase the female power in favor of the male figure. This just really had me on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would be revealed and what would happen next. Lee truly has created a masterful story and I cannot wait to see the conclusion of this trilogy, as well as what she’ll write in the future!

Huge thanks to Netgalley and Saga Press for the e-ARC and wow — you do NOT want to miss this one.

Background:
Flight of the Fallen picks up where Road to Ruin left off, but with none of the stumbling blocks or awkward exposition of its predecessor. We last saw Yi-Nereen and Kadrin reunited at last, Jin Talentless and self-isolating, a city partially destroyed, and two jilted lovers (yes, Sou-Zell and Falka, my favorite spiteful outcasts) left behind. And it all just gets wilder from here.

Synopsis:
The storms are getting worse, and the Kerinas are in crisis. Secular politics meets its perennial foe, a powerful religious order, and our ragtag group of disgraced royals and chaotic commoners (side-eyeing you, Falka) get tangled up in pursuing a myth that might save them all while grappling with their own demons and ambitions. And if they can’t get their shit together long enough to be the first to uncover the Road Builders’ secrets, they might be too late to stop the emergence of a powerful and vengeful new god.

Review:
There is so much to adore about this second installment of Magebike Courier. Yi-Nereen’s struggle to contain her own desire for power leaps right off the page, and everyone’s favorite Talentless princeling graduates from lovable himbo to … well, lovable himbo with humanizing fears and a surprising knack for talk therapy. His endearing friendship with Sou-Zell is an absolute highlight, as is the peculiar dynamic between Sou-Zell and Falka of two survivors stuck together sort of by accident but also kind of by choice. We also have a new arrival, the aspirational artificer Orrin, whom I love to pieces and won’t say more about. Our purported heroine Jin gets a bit overshadowed by this star cast, as most of what she does is in support of her royal paramours, but her journey from the slums of Kerina Sol to a key role in the attempt to save all of the Kerinas is a satisfying one.

The worldbuilding is also fantastic here, as Lee does something really cool with their quasi-elemental magic system and class/wealth differential. The raincallers of the Kerinas don’t simply manipulate water: they are its only source. Bloomweavers don’t just move plants around: without them, there wouldn’t be any plants at all. And none of them can do this without infusing mana, a drug or fuel-like substance that simultaneously empowers and poisons them. While we knew this in RtR, it didn’t have the impact it does in FotF, where it’s hugely significant to the politics of the world. What to do when the very stuff that has made life as we know it possible, that has brought so many benefits and comforts and amenities necessary for survival, is the same stuff that’s slowly killing us?

The answer isn’t easy, but Hana Lee deftly weaves the threads of each character’s personal journey into a beautifully developed narrative that tackles the tough questions about sacrifice and survival and brings us to a conclusion that is both heart-wrenching and satisfying in equal helpings. I for one can’t wait to see what Lee comes out with next.