This offering caught my eye, as I loved the sound of an alternate London and an intriguingly different magic system. But I hadn’t got very far into it, when I realised that it was the second in a series – and that this time around, my reading experience was being seriously compromised by not having read The Nightjar. So I stopped and got hold of the first book – and I firmly advise that you do the same thing, if by chance you have also picked up The Rookery before having already tucked into The Nightjar.
BLURB: After discovering her magical ability to see people’s souls, Alice Wyndham only wants three things: to return to the Rookery, join the House Mielikki and master her magic, and find out who she really is.
But when the secrets of Alice’s past threaten her plans, and the Rookery begins to crumble around her, she must decide how far she’s willing to go to save the city and people she loves.
REVIEW: I enjoyed this one far more than The Nightjar. To some extent, that might be because I’d compromised my reading experience of the first book in this series by already knowing some of the main plotpoints. However, I don’t necessarily think that was the main problem. I’d become a tad exasperated by Alice during The Nightjar, as she made some really daft decisions. And I’m increasingly allergic to heroines who are determined to throw themselves into the most insanely dangerous situations they can find for the sake of the plot, while all the time professing there isn’t any other option.
So I’ll admit to starting this one without feeling hugely enthusiastic – and ended up getting completely pulled into the plot. The world had already beguiled me, and it was the prospect of revisiting the Rookery, the magical version of London, that had prompted me to dive into this one, anyway. But this time around, Alice’s decisions were far more logical. That doesn’t mean that she isn’t still a disaster magnet – but the situations she flung herself into at least made sense to me. And I was pleased to see that the political machinations around the magical houses were given sufficient attention, as that was one of the ongoing issues throughout The Nightjar that had intrigued me. All in all, this was a thoroughly enjoyable, immersive read – to the extent that I stayed up far later than is good for me to discover what happened.
So if you read The Nightjar and came away wondering what all the fuss is about – don’t let that deter you from tucking into this one. It provides a really enjoyable adventure in a pleasingly different world with a nicely original magic system. I highly recommend it to fans of slightly quirky fantasy adventures. While I obtained an arc of The Rookery from Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
9/10
Brainfluff 
I’m glad this ended up working for you. I’m very curious to try this series😁
Thank you, Tammy:)). It’s an entertaining duology, which turned into a memorable read.
I’m intrigued by the original magic system! A slightly quirky fantasy adventure is always nice to read 🙂
I liked the idea of the soul birds, Silvia. And while the house system of magic isn’t particularly original – the history of the Rookery was fascinating. And also sounded plausible, which is always a bit plus with fantasy.
I think I looked at this and really liked the look of it but then realised I’d not read the first. Glad this one was an improvement. I confess I’m also a little tired of people in books who thrown themselves into danger just to help the plot along!
Lynn 😀
Yes! I don’t mind if someone is a true adrenaline junkie and knows what they’re getting into. But it gets wearing when they are simply just stupidly flinging themselves into the sort of danger they’d normally avoid for the sake of the plot!