Signed up right away for this ARC read after finishing the first book last year! I really enjoyed the premise of book one and the author’s excellent writing. I also read a standalone novel by the same author, so I had high hopes for this book.

Read: Apr. 28 – Apr. 30, 2025
*Self-published author

Genre: Fantasy, Supernatural, Mystery, Romance
Audience: Teen, YA
Book contains: blood, murder, brainwashing, sexual themes, death, animal attacks, stalking, public humiliation

Purchase a copy from Amazon.ca

[I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.]

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A Lesson in Overcoming Weakness

Deciding to stay at Port Despardoux, Lola must navigate the world once again as a human, and all that entails. When a mysterious carnival comes to town and Lola starts getting visions of blood and death, she’s on her own figuring out the true intent of the visitors.

It’s been over a year since I read and reviewed book one of this series, so diving in it took me a while to remember what was going on, but I’m grateful it didn’t spit everything at me at once. There was no long-winded exposition, and it just dove straight into the mystery of the plot, which I liked. The transition from book one to book two, and foreshadowing for book three) made sense as well.

The book wholly follows Lola in third person perspective (aside from the prologue). There is ample interiority as well, and the reader gets to figure out the mystery of the carnival alongside her. I am proud to say that I figured out some of it before Lola at least.

I downloaded an eBook, so I listened along audiobook-style while bookbinding, enjoying the tale as I put together my handbound chapbooks. Given this week was full of developmental editing, reading this book was an excellent break for my eyes and brain. I got to read a book without having to pause and make comments!

Lola is such a fun main character. She’s an active protagonist, stepping into trouble even when she doesn’t have to, because she’s grown fond of the humans in her life. It’s such character growth from how she was in the first book. She’s mostly on her own in this book, unfortunately, as everyone else is slowly falling more and more under the influence of an enchantment, and no one is listening to her, which is a bit frustrating, but in a good way. I will admit that at the beginning, I kind of forgot who most of the character are because it’s been so long since I read the first book, but it came back to me quickly enough.

Just because Lola was quite isolated in this book doesn’t mean that the relationships didn’t have any drama. There is conflict pulling everything apart by the seams, and the spell is causing Gael, Nix, and Walt to act in ways they certainly wouldn’t act normally. At the same time, Lola is meeting a bunch of new characters such as Chann and the librarian in town, as well as the other members of the carnival who come into town., some of whom are helpful, others who aren’t so much.

The writing was fun, but it could still be serious at times. Kelly certainly didn’t skimp on teen drama, which flowed really naturally in this book. The challenges that the characters face are definitely fit for the audience; even if they can’t quite relate to being former blood-sucking vampires like Lola, her struggles are real and relatable..

The pacing was really good as well. The chapters often ended on excellent cliffhangers that left you wanting more, and even though there was some slow piecing together of the clues, the action was supremely fast-paced and the mystery was fun and intense.

This novel was a delight to read and I definitely recommend it to fans of the first book! I recommend the series as a whole to any readers who like vampires or treasure hunters or who think the idea of vampire treasure hunters are cool.

Related Reviews:

*Port of Lost Souls Book 1: The Well of Souls by Cordelia Kelly*
*Port of Lost Souls Book 2: The Carnival of Fools by Cordelia Kelly*
*The Sibyl and the Thief by Cordelia Kelly*
*Dawned by Michelle Areaux*
*The Other Side of Daylight by Nicole Chartier*
*The Shadow Atlas Book 1: Initiate by Jenny Sandiford*