Review: Cast in Peril by Michelle Sagara

4 out of 5 scoopers

Cast in Peril by Michelle Sagara
Harelquin/LUNA (Sept. 18, 2012)
Trade: $14.95; ebook: $10.99
ISBN: 9780373803507

Favorite Lines: “Kitling, I don’t know what hopes you have for Lord Nightshade, but hope, among our kin, is not a double-edged blade. It is single edged, and the edge always wounds. Always. He is not mortal. He does not value what you value…He is what he is, Kaylin. Accept that; you will find the Barrani less daunting. He is not mortal and his concerns are not mortal concerns.” (p. 118-119, e-galley)

USUALLY DISASTER DIDN’T STRIKE QUITE SO CLOSE TO HOME…

It has been a busy few weeks for Private Kaylin Neva. In between angling for a promotion, sharing her room with the last living female Dragon and dealing with more refugees than anyone knew what to do with, the unusual egg she’d been given was ready to hatch. Actually, that turned out to be lucky, because it absorbed the energy from the bomb that went off in her quarters….

So now might be the perfect time to leave Elantra and journey to the West March with the Barrani. If not for the disappearances of citizens in the fief of Tiamaris-disappearances traced to the very Barrani Kaylin will be traveling with…

Yes, it’s that time again. Michelle Sagara has written book eight in her Chronicles of Elantra series. (I call it the Cast series.) If you haven’t read the previous seven books, do NOT attempt to begin with Cast in Peril.

Kaylin is about to depart on a new journey. This one will take her into the heart of he Barrani. She has no idea how many secrets she’ll uncover or the danger she’ll face. Kaylin’s ability to tell stories and use true words will be needed as she learns truths about those who surround her. Fortunately, she has a new ally which hatched before the trip.

I enjoyed this installment, but I had a few issues. For the first time Kaylin irritated me with her cluelessness. I’ve watched her grow over the weeks that which were written about in books one through seven. She may not have caught on to the events immediately, but she always learned and retained what she learned. While reading Cast in Peril I wanted to shake Kaylin. Over and over she was told the need to do certain things, but by the end of the books she had yet to do so. It was like all adventures she’d recently faced made no impact at all.

Despite my irritation with Kaylin, I enjoyed the story. I have a feeling that others will not be pleased with the lack of progress made in the story though. The journey begins in Cast of Peril, but by the final page turn the characters have yet to reach their destination. I feel like the story ends without ever reaching the climax and the idea of waiting a year to find out what happens is going to drive me bonkers.

On the Severn and Lord Nightshade note, I think Kaylin is beginning to lean toward one person in particular. I could be wrong, but she discovers some information which infuriates her. It bothered me too, but I need more. I want some romance thrown in and the reader is still being teased about who means what to whom. The thing to remember is Kaylin and Severn are humans playing an unknown game with immortals. What makes sense to long-lived creatures, does not always seem “right” to the human who “would only live a handful of years.”

Cast in Peril is not my favorite book in the series, but I still rank it higher than the average book. I will re-read it and am excitedly waiting the next book, Cast in Sorrow.