| Series: | Extraordinaires #2 |
| Pub. Date: | June 30, 2017 |
| Publisher: | Tantor Audio |
| Narrator: | Cat Gould |
| Length: | 11 hrs 16 min |
| Source: | Publisher |
 |  |
Wondering Sight is the second book in The Extraordinaires historical fantasy series, following Burning Bright. These books can be read as standalones if you are so inclined, there was no noticeable character crossover in this installment. The Extraordinaries have special talents above and beyond the rest of society. They can control fire (scorchers), or move large objects via telekinesis (movers), teleport (bounders), heal and shape the human body (shapers), or prognosticate (seers). Not everyone has a talent, and not every talent is extraordinary... but this series seeks to showcase the most extraordinary people of the time.
Our heroine, Sophia Westlake, is an Extraordinary Seer, able to see past, present and future events in dreams and visions. She has returned home from serving her country in disgrace, after the War Office did not believe her visions that showed an embezzling peer of the realm. But Sophia is no dishwater miss, and she is not going to let the criminal get away with his misdeeds. She is headstrong and determined to get her revenge, to the extent that those closest to her believe she is losing her mind. Unfortunately, Sophia's character was not very likable. She was so focused on her revenge that she came off as cold and foolhardy. I was never able to establish the connection to her that I look for with my heroines.
Lord Rutledge was an investigator for the Bank of London, and our hero, but he took a back seat to Sophia. I would have liked to see Rutledge more in the spotlight along with Sophia. Lord Rutledge first approaches Sophia to assist him using her Seer abilities, but the acquaintance started off poorly and remained rocky for most of the book. The romance was definitely not the focus of this story, and our couple did not engage in much (if any) relationship building. I think if the romance were livened up a bit, it would have softened Sophia's edges and made her a more likable character.
Overall, the plot was not bad. I enjoyed Sophia's attempts to uncover Lord Endicott's crimes and vindicate herself. Endicott was a good villain - the charming sly type that no one suspects. In the audio, there was some confusion with names. One of the co-villains was named Baines (sp?), which sounded very much like one of the Bow Street Runners, Bain (sp?). So I had a hard time understanding who was being discussed at times.
I did like the secondary characters in this installment. Cecy was a sympathetic character with her mysterious illness and desire for a baby, and Daphne and her exuberance were endearing. I do hope that Daphne gets her own story - I think her bounding ability will be interesting and unique.
The narrator for this audiobook is Cat Gould, and I am no stranger to her work. I think she does a good job giving each character their own personality and I never hesitate to pick up one of her audiobooks.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from the publisher, Tantor Audio.
No comments:
Post a Comment