Review: The Astray Chosen by Laura Huie
Blurb:
They both need to find the gods. He, to save the country. Her, to kill them.
Fia's magic has broken. Every portal she makes slices the ground and reality itself. It’s been months of training and she is no closer to returning to Earth. Each week she fails, the Fate takes more and more control over Winston’s body. Even being Chosen, protected from death by the gods themselves, they are far from safe as the gods pursue their own goals.
Despite young Martin’s prayers for guidance, silence is the only response. He can only watch in fear of his own people as a drought sent to punish Fia’s betrayal destroys his country. Unanswered prayers and fear will feed no one. Will the people he cares for most pay for his indecision and cowardice?
Review:
WARNING! This is a review for The Astray Chosen, the second book in the Thedre Trilogy by Laura Huie! As such, this review will have spoilers for the first book - The Unchosen. I will try to limit these, but with how closely tied the two books are, it will be hard to split them apart. Before proceeding here, I highly suggest picking up the first book.
And wow, does it pick up after the first book. The Unchosen left the story with Fia stranded in Thedre, hunted, with only one ally that sometimes tries to harm her, and what feels like an entire nation (or two) of people waiting to catch her mistakes so they could no longer call themselves her allies.
The tension right from the beginning builds up both externally, with the problems that arise throughout Thedre and Fia’s reappearance into the world (among other things), and internally with Fia’s struggles to both return to her new home on Earth and help her past lover with his issues.
Fia and Winston’s relationship in this story is challenged even more than the first book, especially when another love interest gets solidified in the form of Janga - a warrior for her people that both trusts and watches over Fia - and the fact that Winston has come to terms with Fia’s lack of feelings toward him. That alone was heartbreaking enough, but then Huie had to go and twist the knife by putting Winston in such situations that make it hard not to root for him.
We also end up getting more of a glance into Winston’s past and what ends up being one of the major plot points for the story. To soften those blows, the author gives us some more insight into the relationship between Fia and Winston in the past and all I can say is - this guy is a green flag no matter what.
Yes - he has his flaws, yes - he made mistakes, and yes - he owns up to them. He doesn’t waver in his convictions, though it does feel at times like he is fighting a losing battle.
What impressed me most about this book however was what felt like a minor character in the previous book. Martin is a Verdant apprentice, chosen by the Fates to lead his nation in the future and with the power to control plants. Just thinking about his evolution in this book has me covered in goosebumps. I really want to spoil it and talk about it non-stop and the author did receive a scream-fest from me at one point because the way this young man was written had me more invested in his goals and when reading his points of view, than the main characters! He definitely rose to be a favourite character.
This is where I think the second book’s strengths are: the characters. Laura Huie showed their flaws, made them real, rounded them off, and then gave us hope for each of them. I was rooting for Fia, Winston, and Martin at every chance I had - even when I didn’t agree with their decisions.
On another note, one of my favourite things about the first book was the world-building itself and the Fates. In this book, a lot of my guesses about the Fates and their roles were proven false in the best way possible. The author twisted around the ideas I had about the Fates in such a way that made their existence even more powerful. The planning for them and the little lead-ins from the first book connected in a way that had me rooting for all sides!
Add onto that Fia’s magic and a few hints throughout the first book with it that she took to the next level. Even though she has yet to regain the strength she had before and her control over light magic, what she does with her magic in this book is both ingenious and surprising, to both me as a reader and other characters in the book!
Unlike the first book with the bounces between Earth and Thedre, this book takes place fully in Thedre and Fia working on strengthening her magic enough to return to Earth. Not only that though. As the most powerful light user to ever exist and indebted to her current allies for events from the first book, she has to learn how to use her powers for other means too. This is where the progression part is strong, but not overly-dramatic. A natural progression, if you will.
Like the first book, however, Fia’s magic isn’t all there is about her. Her knowledge and experience, however limited it may have seemed with her lost memories, is what makes her stand out. She is stubborn, decisive, sticks to her guns, and still admits her mistakes. She is wanted for her magic, but she provides so much more than that!
And with the way this book ended? I am definitely looking forward to reading the final book in this series! I can’t wait to see how things would evolve and change once more, especially with how things ended in this book with all four amazing characters (adding Janga to the roster, because she was absolutely badass!)
A last quick note: Laura Huie has a short story about Winston from before the trilogy begins and after getting so much deeper into his past, motivations, and character in this story, I had to go back and re-read that story and wow - the little details that it adds on are just spot on!
Summary
Romance: side-plot, one-sided M>F and requited FF
Spice: fade-to-black
Tropes: elemental magic, portal magic, progression
Writing: third person, multi-POV, past-tense
