I thought the first book, Song of Scarabaeus, was good - well, CHILDREN OF SCARABAEUS was even more satisfying.

I may have mentioned previously that I love reading books that focus on the same set of characters over time because we get to see them grow, and CHILDREN just proved that to be true. Both Edie and Finn have matured since SONG; Edie, especially, is so much stronger in this book, which in turn meant I could really believe in Edie and Finn's relationship and HEA. As with SONG, the world-building had depth and I found myself sinking back easily into Sara Creasy's universe, this time with the added benefit of knowing and caring about the characters from the start - learning more about Finn's background in particular was a bonus.

The plot reveal caught me by surprise - I probably should have guessed, but didn't. And there was possibly a slight tinge of deus ex machina towards the end to wrap things up, but I didn't really care by that point.

A very excellent duology - easily one of my favourites of the year - and I look forward to seeing what Sara Creasy writes next.