When some sort of plague starts affecting both the Light and Dark Fae courts, the Wild Hunt is called in to investigate. Ember is a little distracted though as she’s dealing with her new house which seems to have unwelcome guests of the ghostly sort as well as her father’s family showing up. But when it becomes clear that this disease may be an attempt to completely destroy the Fae, the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been before.
So this book was really interesting, but also kind of frustrating. The case is very much background to what is going on in Ember’s life. And she has a lot going on. She learns a lot more about her family background, and her own powers are starting to grow. It’s pretty clear that she’s about to face a lot of change in her life. In fact, more of the book is preoccupied with that than the case. Which isn’t exactly bad, but the fact that the main mystery is less interesting than Ember’s current issues is a problem, especially when we keep getting pulled away from Ember’s issues to deal with the case. And it isn’t really necessary to keep the story moving. It barely ties into what Ember has going one except with one exception, and the book doesn’t balance the two plots very well. Ember’s is definitely the more interesting one, and it does fit with some of the themes from the earlier books.
The case itself is resolved off screen after they get the mcguffin they needed for the antidote, and there are a lot of loose that aren’t dealt with. Maybe they will be in the next book. I’ll just have to see. One of my biggest complaints about this series so far is that the books seem rather short, and the author could have easily combined some of them into one book which might help the flow and pacing of the story arcs. Still, I will admit that I find both the world and the characters fascinating, and will continue to read these. Three out of five stars.
