I love Brennan’s writing, particularly the awesome Lady Trent series – see my review of A Natural History of Dragons, The Tropic of Serpents, The Voyage of the Basilisk, and Within the Sanctuary of Wings and the first book the spinoff series, Turning Darkness into Light. I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in this entertaining duology, Warrior, so didn’t leave it too long before diving into this second offering. I am linking this review to Wyrd and Wonder 2020.
BLURB: When a witch is born, a doppelganger is created. For the witch to master her powers, the twin must be killed. Until now…
Created by the merging of witch and doppelganger, Mirei is a unique being. Her extraordinary magic makes her the most poweful witch alive—and a notorious social outcast. While Satomi, the leader of the witches’ ruling Primes, hails Mirei as a miracle, rival Primes proclaim that Mirei is an evil 
abomination… and that those who champion her must be destroyed.
I am a real fan of a premise that throws up unintended consequences. Given the first book finished in quite an unexpected place, I didn’t leave it too long before diving into this one – and once more Brennan quickly threw in a couple of curved balls I didn’t see coming. I love it when that happens… Interestingly, Mirei, who was the focus of the first book is slightly pushed to one side as the consequences of what happened to her ripples through the layers of the magical community and the group of assassins, both of whom have been directly affected. As you can imagine, when a number of powerful people within both these groups become a tad fed up, the consequences are dire.
Due to the fast paced, twisting nature of the plot and the fact that I am allergic to spoilers, I can’t really comment in any detail about the events that unfold. However, Brennan manages to provide a solid, believable world without resorting to pages of description, which is important in such a tightly constructed, pacey read. Desperate to find out what would happen next, I burned through this one, staying up far later than I should to discover what happens next. While her Memoirs of Lady Trent series is very well known, this duology is far less so – and it deserves to be far more widely read. Highly recommended for fans of Marie Brennan and page-turning fantasy adventures with twisty plots.
9/10
Brainfluff 
A book that makes you “burn through the pages” is one that deserves serious consideration, indeed!
Thanks for sharing! 🙂
It’s a lovely duology and if Himself hadn’t unearthed it, I would never have picked it up.
I do love this author so this is a series I should definitely read. (especially as it’s only two books!. The doppleganger aspects kind of reminds me of the Toby Daye series.
Lynn 😀
It is a really interesting read – the plot is very twisty and goes off in some unexpected areas, which I always love. And as you say… only two books and the pages more or less turn themselves. It deserves to be better known!
Sounds bewitching!
It really is a delightful duology:))
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