The odd little infant with black hair and eyes the colors of night and day was named Evensong, for the time of her birth, and was called Eve. But her name was truly Secret. Secret was unable to speak until her seventh year. She seemed not to miss speaking aloud for she had the uncanny ability to exchange thoughts with plants and animals, an ability she carefully hid from everyone. Her parents seemed to love her but paid her little attention, for she was a good, quiet, obedient child. She was also a very lonely child, having only two friends, Prince Nikolas, a boy her age, and Old Woman who lived in the forest.

This second book of the trilogy takes place about a thousand years after the events in The Mapmaker’s War. This is a slow, quiet book. Nothing much happens. Secret grows up and has an unusual childhood, but not an unduly traumatic one. But underneath all of this calmness, there is a tension, a feeling that something just below the surface is very unpleasant. I loved reading the book, came to care very much about Secret and was very unhappy when the book ended without anything being resolved. Unfortunately, this is the fate of many middle books in a trilogy. They just set the stage for the third book. I hope the next book will appear soon so that I may once again immerse myself in this interesting fantasy world. It isn’t necessary to have read the first book to enjoy this one, but I have a feeling that it will come into play in the third book.

eGalley review   Publication date 5.20.14