Book: The Halls of the Vanished by Emilia D'Arcy
Reviewed by Booksbystarlightandshadows
Rating: 3/5
I enjoyed this overall but it didn't grab me as much as I hoped. I did struggle with the third person narrative quite a bit in the middle - I had to keep checking whose chapter I was in, particularly later on, as the four main characters (excluding Silas) are often all together. I would have loved the 90s setting to have been leaned into harder for that nostalgia hit as unless we end up having some kind of flash forward in a later book, this could have been set now as it's not really touched on.
I love a good why choose but this is more about Ezra and Ivy with the potential second MMC, Silas, in the wings for the majority of the book. Silas and Ezra have a past relationship but the focus is very much on Ivy and it is very slow burn. There is tension but its not quite simmering although the spice was written well when it happened.
I enjoyed the whole Briar mystery, the world building and the magic we did see. I liked how Ezra's magic worked when it was revealed (although I didn't quite understand why he didn't just take the posters down rather than manipulating them if it used so much energy). The last few chapters really ramped up the action and I loved some of the reveals. I'm looking forward to book two as that final chapter has me invested.
My interpretation of the star system;
3 stars - I enjoyed it; would read the author again
4 stars - I really liked it; I am invested and definitely want more from this author/series
5 stars - I loved it; I engaged with this book completely until I finished it and it is one I will re-read