Feast of the Evernight - Ross Mackenzie

 

I have long been a fan of Ross Mackenzie's books and first a proof version of Evernight in July 2019 (bizarrely on a sunbed in Ibiza which felt rather strange considering the theme of the book!). If you haven't read Evernight, you really must!!

As Feast of the Evernight begins, preparations are well under way in Lake End for the Silver King's Evernight Feast in just a couple of weeks' time; however, mysterious killings are taking place and a new threat is facing the White Witches, and Double Eight is the prime suspect. Lara and Joe, along with a group of others, make the journey back to Lake End to try to get to the bottom of what's going on before the secret police do.

It was so good to be reunited with Lara and Joe who have settled in Westerly Witch, as well as being introduced to a host of new characters.  Lara has lost none of her feistiness (although there is a definite modesty when she discusses the events of Evernight) and, now she is officially a White Witch, she is keen to use her magic skills and her wand to find out exactly what is going on. However, despite everything she is being told, she remains loyal to her friend Double Eight and finds it difficult to believe that he is behind the killings. We are also introduced to Ivy Robin, who makes an explosive entry into the book. Having had her soul returned to her, she chose freedom over serving the Silver King and is now being hunted by Karl Younger of the secret police. Having trouble learning how to control her magic, she is terrified of what she might do but is also terrified of being left alone and being discovered by Karl.  She is a character that grows in strength and courage as the book progresses and I really liked her.

As with Evernight, there is a darkness that runs through the pages, and the theme of good versus evil is ever present. Friendship and loyalty are put to the test and courage is always at the forefront of our characters' actions, even if they don't realise it at the time.  

I thoroughly enjoyed Feast of the Evernight (it was promoted to the top of my tbr pile as soon as it arrived!) and found it difficult to put down. I loved being back and seeing how the characters had developed. Although not as dark in some places as its predecessor (I don't think anybody could ever be as evil as Mrs Hester was), I still found the killings and the intent of some of the characters dark enough to make me shudder at times - which is what I was after from the sequel.  From the beginning of the book, there is an anticipation lurking of what is to come - who is this evil character that is killing people from the first chapter? And although I had my suspicions as to what would happen at the end of the book, I definitely did not see the actual events coming so hats off to you Ross!  This is another triumph of a book and I guarantee that if you loved Evernight, you will love this.  I just don't feel as if my words are quite doing the book justice if I'm honest!  So please, instead of listening to my wittering, go and pre-order it and then carve out some time to curl up and enjoy being back with Lara and Joe when the book is released on the 6th May.