A Whisper in the Walls

The author manages to keep the knife-edge tension of the first book in an entirely new environment and, somehow, ramp it up spectacularly. The tonal shift between settings and plots between the first book and this one is pretty abrupt and something I don't think just any author could pull off, but this author DEFINITELY pulled it off.

Almost every chapter had me on the edge of my seat. I had a few broad-strokes predictions of where the plot might go but I continued to be pleasantly surprised when it threw me for a loop over and over again. It's very hard to put this book down once you start reading it; the second half of the book especially had me so anticipatory I was almost genuinely stressed at how this was all going to work out for the people I was rooting for, if in fact that was the direction it was going to go. This is only the second book in a trilogy. It wouldn't have been out of the question for them to ‘lose' and have to work even harder for a win in the final installment.

This book also pulled off inserting brand-new POV characters very well. That type of thing happening, especially when the first book was always in the same POV of the MC, is very hit or miss for me. It's easy for it to feel disjointed or for it to drag, and I'm almost predisposed to not like the new characters, but that wasn't the case here. I enjoyed the new characters immensely and, instead of making the story disjointed or annoying me by taking me away from the ‘main' plot, the new POVs went a long way in making the world even wider and more interesting.

My only slight gripe is that I don't really see where the story can go from here. To keep it as vague and non-spoilery as possible, everyone pretty much accomplished the goals they'd held since the beginning, even if everything isn't 100% settled. I'm a bit concerned that the 3rd book will fall into the trap of the author wanting to write more to make more money but the plot not actually having enough substance to justify a 3rd book. I still plan on picking up the third installment when it comes out, but I am a bit wary.

Still just as good as the first book though, and worth the read!

C.A.P.E Rating:
Characters - 4/5
Atmosphere - 5/5
Plot - 4/5
Enjoyment - 4/5

Wow, what a ride! I thought this series had a lot of potential after book 1, and Scott Reintgen really delivered here! The first book I think set readers up for disappointment and suffered from being labeled as “dark academia” while being compared to the Scholomance series when it really wasn’t that at all. Now that we’re fully away from the school setting, the rest of the world that’s been created here can really shine. It remains to be seen whether the series will stick the landing, but I’m really looking forward to seeing how the trilogy concludes!