Howdy YAL!

I was really excited for this sequel,but when I started reading it I was like…

There’s no reason why a sequel was needed.

Seriously, everything was wrapped up nice enough, and when the catalyst was moved forward for this book I was just kind of like you stupid people.

It reminded me a lot of the whole Natalie and Aaron situation on The Winds of War, which if you haven’t seen it is this eighteen or so hour miniseries that takes place prior to World War II.  Just like this book.  And just like this book there are character that could’ve gotten out of danger  but they still our dumb enough put themselves in danger time after time again until they almost get killed.

To be fair, I should’ve known as much when I opened the book.  But I was really hoping that Blankman would’ve had a better explanation for these characters heading back to Hitler’s viper nest than they did. Prisoner of Night and Fog was really my favorite dark horse read of 2014.  This not so much.

It doesn’t mean that the writing suffered.  It was quite good.  The book was also well researched and I did feel like I learned a lot from it. The thing is, it wasn’t necessary.

Plus, I just grew tired of the relationship.

I’ve honestly never shipped these two together.

But the romance was tolerable in the first one.  Here it might be a little too on the innocent side.  I get that people weren’t as open with PDA and that there would less likely be anything beyond (if they even got there) second base with these two before marriage, but I didn’t even feel like these too emotionally were connected.

Or for that matter felt really any chemistry.  Their relationship, if anything was a plot point.  Which is a shame because I wanted to love this ship.

I just didn’t though.

I think in the end Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke isn’t a bad book, but it just didn’t do it for me. I blame it partially on how much it’s predecessor wowed me.  It’s not a book, the core elements are there, but it was just sort of a meh.

Overall Rating: A solid B.