A month or so ago, I reviewed the first half of this duology, and was awfully mad for not having the second half right away. Well, yesterday it was released (today, as I’m writing this), and of course I purchased it (here) and read it right away. I got it in HTML format, which is generally my preferred e-book format; for those who dislike e-books, it should be out in paperback form in a year or so. (You can see why I got the e-book.) I probably don’t need to introduce Sherwood Smith, based on the number of her books that I’ve previously reviewed, but in any case, she’s a SoCal fantasy author whose works range from middle-grade readers (the Wren books) to adult (the Inda books).

This volume follows immediately on the heels of the previous one, and the same storylines dominate. Sasha’s mother was born on Earth, in the 20th century, but she went through the World Gate to live on Sartorias-deles (a pre-industrial world with magic) and marry a prince; they had Sasha, and then civil unrest started. Sasha’s father disappeared, and Sasha and her mother went to hide on Earth. At the beginning of the previous volume, they go back to Sartorias-deles (specifically a country called Khanerenth) unwillingly; from there they are thrown back into the mess of politics and have to try to unravel what’s going on.

Yet again, we have Sasha’s mother, Atanial (or Sun), who kicks more butt than anyone else in the story. She even manages to kick butt while having hot flashes. Her ’60s idealism comes in very handy when she needs to organize a large group of people; she even compares it to a 1968 peace march. She’s definitely my favorite character, although that’s a little bit unfair to Sasha herself (who also kicks a severe amount of butt). Atanial has a backbone of steel, along with an amazing amount of loyalty to and belief in causes and people. She never waivers. I would absolutely love to grow up to be her, although I think I’d have to grow about nine inches taller and become a blonde for that to happen.

As I mentioned before, Sasha’s pretty awesome herself. In addition to all the butt-kicking and sword-fighting, she has a great sense of humor. I think at some point in the book she uses the phrase ‘teh bomb’, which was amusing to see in print. Yes, it’s a very current phrase, but twenty years from now, it’ll be understood as Earth slang. It doesn’t quite matter what phrase she used, because the humor was a language barrier one, not a different-time one (someone using 2000s slang in the Victorian era, for example — it’ll all look like old slang in 2100). She also wins over a number of friends in proper fashion: by not holding herself above them. At two points (one in this book and one in the previous), she even uses her old skills as a server.

Overall, this is a very satisfying ending to the story, although perhaps not quite as appealing as the first half. There’s a lot more strategy and warfare; for a large section of the book, Sasha is effectively derailed and not moving forward. There are many more romantic moments in this volume, though, and a lot more drive towards the finish. I’d definitely recommend reading both halves at once; in essence, reuniting them as one book. I’m still sort of amazed that I managed to wait an entire month between volumes. It’s definitely recommended for other fans of Ms. Smith’s works, as well as those looking for an easy entry into her multi-series world, or those who just like pirate stories with strong heroines. 4/5 stars.