Empire of Night audiobook

***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***Empire of Night by Kelley ArmstrongBook Two of the Age of Legends seriesPublisher: HarperCollinsPublication Date: April 7, 2015Rating: 4 starsSource: ARC sent by the publisherSummary (from Goodreads):Sisters Moria and Ashyn are the Keeper and Seeker of Edgewood. Or at least, they were.Their village is gone. Their friends have betrayed them. And now, the emperor has sent them on a mission to rescue the children of Edgewood—accompanied by Prince Tyrus and a small band of imperial warriors. But the journey proves more perilous than they could have imagined. With treachery and unrest mounting in the empire, Moria and Ashyn will have to draw on all their influence and power to overcome deadly enemies—not all of them human—and even avert an all-out war.What I Liked:Guys, I almost don't want to write this review because LET ME CRY AND SUFFER IN PEACE, OKAY?! This one was soooo good. It was amazing and thrilling and heartbreaking and MY FEELS. They are broken. I hate when people talk about their "feels", but right now, it just fits. Sea of Shadows was excellent, and Empire of Night does its predecessor justice. Yes, Empire of Night didn't get five stars from me (like Sea of Shadows did), but that's mostly because of the cliffhanger ending. It's a great ending, but high on the heartbreak and cliffhangers. I did the same with the rating of The Winner's Crime - darn these heartbreaking-ending-sequel novels! Where is the third book, I need it!Ashyn and Moria are almost-prisoners in the emperor's palace. They hate court life, but they must stay and gain allies and power if they want to find the children of Edgewood. An opportunity is given by the emperor for Moria and Prince Tyrus to rescue the children, and Ashyn comes too. So does Ronan, who basically told Ashyn that he didn't want anything more from the kiss they shared in Sea of Shadows. We all know this is not true, but Ronan is determined to leave Ashyn alone. And Gavril - Gavril has betrayed the empire (and Moria). Moria and Ashyn must find the children, and battle shadow stalkers and other creatures, and watch their backs in the midst of war.In Sea of Shadows, I loved both Ashyn and Moria. Usually, when we have two female protagonists, I'll like one and dislike one. Not the case with this book. This book is broken into chunks of each girl's third-person perspectives (the girls aren't together all the time, so it's also like there are two separate plots). I think the author focused a smidge more on Moria in this book, but that might just be my perception of the book. I didn't mind at all.Moria is the fierce warrior of the pair. She is fearless, and guards her heart. She and Gavril cared about each other, but weren't lovers. I had really hoped that they would be A Thing, but their "romance" in book one wasn't a huge thing... it almost wasn't a thing at all. So when Gavril betrays everyone, including Moria, Moria is hurt and angry, but she isn't heartbroken and devastated. She doesn't like mentioning his name though, so, there's that.I really like the direction of Moria's story in this book. She actually falls for someone else, and it's a palatable, tangible relationship, not like her relationship with Gavril. This guy - Prince Tyrus - has a good heart and a kind soul. I like him a lot. He's brave yet cautious, determined and loyal, and a courageous warrior. He's a bastard prince, but a prince nonetheless. I might have been all OMG-NO-IS-THIS-A-LOVE-TRIANGLE, except that Gavril and Moria were barely A Thing in Sea of Shadows (I kept mentioning how subtle the romance was in that book), and they never did anything... you can tell that Moria genuinely loves Tyrus and vice versa. It's endearing, because Moria is very hardened.Not like Ashyn. Ashyn is the softer of the two, the healer to her warrior sister. Both of them are fierce and unafraid and forces to be reckoned with, but Ashyn is an anchor, whereas Moria is a rock. Ronan straight-up tells Ashyn that he didn't want more from her, and he didn't want her to want more from him. This hurts Ashyn deeply, and she carries this hurt with her throughout the book. But it's SO OBVIOUS that it's hurting him too. There is a reason why he shut things down, and I don't believe for a second that it's because he doesn't love her or want her. So, I'm pretty optimistic about that relationship. No love triangle there either.The story is fast-paced and quite engrossing. The book is a tad bit on the long side for Young Adult literature, but I don't mind "long" books - and this one just flies by. Seriously, you'll reach page 300 and by like, wooaaahhh, I've gotten this far already?! It's about 430 pages, but it doesn't feel that long at all. Armstrong has a way with weaving a beautiful story that is interesting and complex and heartbreaking. There is a lot going, not just the search for the children. The politics, the threat of Kitsune, the shadow stalkers... the romance is by no means the central part of the story. There is too much else going on!Moria, Ashyn, Tyrus, and Ronan set out together to find the children of Edgewood (Tyrus hires Ronan to be a guard of a sort). The group is split up multiple times, and with each time, my heart grew a little heavier. You could tell that something terrifying was going to happen in the end, and separate the group for quite some time. And it does. And my heart broke a little (a LOT).Heartbreaking. Oh my gosh, don't even get me started. Throughout the book, I was sad for Ashyn and Ronan, because duh, you two belong together (stupid Ronan). I was happy for Tyrus and Moria, because duh, they belong together (and they know it). But then... sad things happen... and I'm SAD! The ending is cruel! Heartbreaking! Cliffhanger-y! Why, Armstrong, why?! I NEED BOOK THREE!What I Did Not Like:I'm giving this one four stars (as opposed to five stars) ONLY because of the cliffhanger ending. I hate cliffhangers, I hate waiting, and I hate feeling heartbroken! I love this book, and it's logical, the way the author ended the book, but gosh. I feel like EVERYONE was hurt in some way, physically or emotionally or mentally or something. There is so much going on! That cliffhanger though...Would I Recommend It:YES! I would totally recommend this book! And series! Oh my goodness do yourself a favor and read Sea of Shadows! And Empire of Night! Although, I can't blame anyone who might want to wait until closer to book three's release (I'm assuming there will be a book three, though I haven't seen any information about it). There is NO WAY the author can end the series the way this book ends, so I'm just going to go ahead and assume that a book three is in the works. NEED.Rating:4.5 stars -> rounded down to 4 stars (remember, this is only because of the cliffhanger). This series definitely will be a favorite series, because fantasy! Subtle romance! Totally shipping the couples! Except... book three will tell all. Seriously, the ending of this book leaves so much to want. Please don't disappoint, Kelley Armstrong!

WOW! This book was so so good! Excellent really. I liked Kelley Armstrong's Darkest Powers trilogy as a kid but Kelley's new Age of Legends series is just incredible. So much danger, emotion, and action all in one, with great characters. I was very upset when Empire of Night ended, but only because I wanted to keep reading, and I don't have the third book yet! If you like monsters, sword fights, and strong female characters, with just a tinge of romance, this series is perfect for you. If you have read other novels by Kelley and didn't like them, trust me you will like this one! It is very different from anything Kelley has done before in YA and she did a marvellous job of sucking me into her fantasy meets horror world. It's scary but oh so sweet and captivating. You won't want to leave.Five stars!*SPOILER--I think I'm still rooting for Gavril. Anyone else?

HOLY LITERARY FICTION I NEED THE FINAL INSTALLMENT NOW. Review to come closer to release date.

Fucking LOVED THIS BOOK HOLY SHIT!!!!!!!!!!! I ANT BELIEVE THEY JUST LEAVE IT LIKE THAT IT IS READY KILLING ME!

Fantasy, badass fight scenes, and swoon-worthy love interests are my bookish trifecta. Give me badass ladies kicking ass, using magic, and making out and I will be one happy reader. So imagine my delight when Kelley Armstrong's EMPIRE OF NIGHT gave me all three! Since this is the second book in the series, I won’t talk about the plot at all to avoid spoilers. This review mostly concerns itself with world building and characters.As Keeper and Seeker, Moria and Ashyn occupy a sacred and revered position within the Empire. Their ability to communicate with and help spirits cross to the other side is a powerful one, especially in a society that venerates ancestry and recognizes the presence of spirit in all living things. But they have come to learn that not everyone is happy with the status qu0 in the Empire - and those people are willing to anger the spirits in the name of change…and power.When I read the first book in this series last year I wasn't as impressed it as I was hoping to be. The Age of Legends series is Kelley Armstrong's first foray into pure fantasy and honestly? It showed. While I loved the characters and the relationships between them (especially twins Moria and Ashyn), the world building in book one left a lot to be desired. So I was concerned that world building would continue to be a stumbling block for EMPIRE OF NIGHT, but I couldn't have been more wrong. This second book in the trilogy is leaps and bounds more sophisticated than the first.The world in EMPIRE OF NIGHT is clearly rooted in feudal Japan; with last names like Kitsune, Okami, and Tatsu, it’s kind of difficult not to make the connection. But EMPIRE OF NIGHT makes the Japanese and Pan-Asian influences more explicit by clearly incorporating elements of the Samurai Code, the importance of honour, and filial piety into life in the Empire. This is one of the few YA fantasy series I’ve read where the protagonists are white – and they are in the racial minority. All of the major players aside from Moria and Ashyn are people of colour, with the majority of the Empire's population described as having the skin tone and almond-shaped eyes associated with East Asian people. As Northerners of the Empire, Moria and Ashyn are actually stereotyped as unintelligent and uncultured…and some people even stoop so far as to fetishize their ethnicity. I see what you did there, Kelley Armstrong! And I dig it. No one ever said that a YA fantasy trilogy couldn't incorporate social commentary.I'm not as invested in Ashyn's storyline as I am in Moria's, but I think that has less to do with Ashyn as a character and more with Armstrong's focus on Moria's adventures. We spend more time in Moria's head than we do in Ashyn's, so I haven't developed the same love for her that I have for Moria. That said, I love that Ashyn is an atypical YA heroine: she's reserved, bookish, and even a little bit prim. She’s quite the contrast to her rough-and-tumble, kiss-the-boys-and-make-them-cry sister, and at first I didn’t know what to make of her. EMPIRE OF NIGHT sees Ashyn come into her own and stepping out of Moria’s shadow a bit, becoming more confident in both her intelligence and her fledgling self-defence skills. Ashyn is proof that a “strong female character” doesn’t have to be brash and physical; her strength comes from her mind and her willingness to defend herself, her sister, and her beliefs. #GirlPowerI would be remiss if I didn’t mention the romance in EMPIRE OF NIGHT, since it’s important for the series and completely friggin’ adorable. A love triangle emerges between Moria and two dudes who are both equally awesome, both equally hot, and both are an equally good fit for her. Lucky girl! I’ve read enough Kelley Armstrong to be confident in who Moria will end up with, but I can honestly say that I would be happy if she got with either guy. Poor Ashyn’s romantic situation looks bleak, but I have to give her major kudos for how maturely she handles everything. She clearly and calmly tells dudes when they're being jerkfaces and doesn't put up with their crap. Obviously Ashyn has grown on me and I can definitely see her becoming equally as awesome as Moria in the series finale. I can't wait to see how it all goes down!

OH MY GOD!!!!! What a book!!! Guys please read it. I truly don't know why this series is not more popular. It's so amazing.Great characters, great world building, great plot GREAT LOVE TRIANGLE!!!! I don't usually like love triangles but in this case I can't even choose which guy I like better.And we get some great new characters in this one and I really hope to see more of them in the next book.The only thing I didn't like in this one was Ronan. He's not that bad but he annoys me sometimes :/

I like this book although it had a really dark and creepy beginning the story developed quite well. I rarely like all of the characters in a story but; I like all the characters in this book. Enjoyed reading both views of the twins and really liked their characteristics. Moria is still my favorite she's witty, resourceful and really a strong character. If you like the first book you'r going to like this too. It's written so well and it's easy to follow. Looking forward in reading the next book.

This review was originally posted at https://freadomlibrary.wordpress.com/Check out my series review here: https://freadomlibrary.wordpress.com/...CriticallyPlot – 4 out of 5 starsThis book picked up the pace a bit more and it’s much more action packed as well. Thankfully, there’s much more information on the world and how the empire they live in actually works. It’s still a bit confusing though with this second book, I’m definitely getting the hang of things. There’s more romance in this one, lots of twists and turns and monsters. It was definitely a lot more exciting than the first book.Writing Style – 4 out of 5 starsThe writing style is, luckily, really easy to read and has a steady pace to go along with the plot. It’s really descriptive and detailed though it can still get kind of confusing sometimes. It’s really verbose and old fashioned. The characters voices sound much older than they are because of the way their empire is. However, the world building has definitely improved in this one and things make much more sense.Characters – 3.5 out of 5 starsThis is still the section in which I’m struggling with the most in this series which sucks because characters are my favorite parts of books. Though it’s definitely improved from the first book as well.Moria is really freaking angry in this book. The ending of the last book kind of shook her and she’s now questioning the things she thought were right. She’s hurt and she feels betrayed. However, she’s still smart and confident in who she is and the plot of this book pushes her to become much more open and honest.While I’m not the biggest fan of Ashyn, I really like the development she had in this book. She’s much more confident and much more outgoing but without losing her personality and the person that she is. She’s still smart and is becoming much more aware of her surroundings but still can’t really fight and is overprotected by some of the male characters.There are more side characters added in this book, much more than I was expecting, but at the same time, they’re all fleshed out much more than in the first book. I enjoyed that there was much more development for all of the characters.Emotionally(view spoiler)[I’m a fan of Kelley Armstrong and I’ve really loved some of her other series but this one definitely isn’t the best and it definitely doesn’t come close to being a favorite.While the first book in the series was disappointing, this second book improved on a lot of things that I had problems with in that one. The plot is full of action. We follow Moria and Ashyn who, after sharing their hardships in Edgewood with the emperor, are frustrated with the lack of progress being made to save the children from their home. When they’re sent on a rescue mission, the journey ends up being much harder than they think. I definitely enjoyed this book much more than the first one. The plot has a lot more action and it’s more engaging, I wanted to continue reading and to find out what was happening. There is more traveling in this book as well and we get to see more of the world and the empire that all these characters are living in. I was still confused by a few things, it’s such a complicated world with so many different inspirations for it, but I still think that if helped the plot move much more progressively. In this book, one of the characters becomes a prisoner of the antagonist and it was really interesting to be able to see behind enemy lines. It helped shape the plot much better in my opinion because I could see both perspectives of this potential war that started brewing in the first book. The twins are separated and because of that, we see so much more than in the first book. The empire is vast and the people are very unique to each kind of region and that was also something that helped me understand the world better, to see all these different cultural traditions. However, I’m just not that invested in what happens next. The ending added a new dimension to the plot and to everything that was happening that feels too big to really be resolved in one book. I don’t really know how everything will be wrapped up and I feel like I might not enjoy it. Moria had more of a spotlight in this book. Her point of view is the more precarious one. I really enjoy her character development. She’s just as harsh and as confrontational as she was in the first book but the things that happened then has affected her personality. She’s so much more mature and is managing to think beyond her emotions and learning to think ahead and strategize. Ashyn has also grown a lot after the events of the first books. She’s much more mature but in a much different way than her sister. Because they are separated, she can’t rely on Moria to help her out of things and she can’t feel threatened or overshadowed by her either. It gives her room to spread her wings and to learn a bit about defending herself and to trust her own instincts because there’s no one there to save her. I really like how even though she’s becoming more vocal and firm, she’s still shy and quiet, she’s grown but she’s not a different person.I’ll talk briefly about the side characters because this is getting super long. Tyrus is a new character that is introduced in this book and I love him! He’s absolutely amazing and actually really refreshing since his personality is the most positive and upbeat of them all. Ronan frustrated me beyond belief in this book. I wanted to shake him and finally get him to do something and stick to it gosh! Gavril is now annoying me. I don’t like how his characterization is turning out and I don’t want him to be a part of a romance. I hope what I’m imagining doesn’t really happen in the next book.Overall, I ended up liking this series. It’s definitely not my favorite that the author has done and I had a lot of issues with the way she did her world building and the kind of world that it was. However, I really liked the character development throughout the whole series and I feel like enjoyed it that much more because of how well I think it was done. I like the way everything concluded and I’m looking forward to seeing what else I pick up from this author. (hide spoiler)]

I read the first book so long ago. I was really worried that it was going to be hard to jump back into this series, but man was I wrong. Empire of Night was an absolute thrill ride, and I'm so glad that I decided to finish this series.I forgot how much I loved Moira and Ashyn. They're both so unique and different but they both have qualities about them that makes me love them. Moira was probably my favourite of the two, she's as adventurous and stubborn as always, and never ceases to get herself into trouble. Ashyn is the calmer, and more logical of the two, I adore how she knows exactly what to do and say in any situation. Seeing their story progress and their character development further was really great to read about. Both sisters were tricked in their romance aspect in the first book, and seeing how they deal with that in different ways was wonderful, it really made them come to life and be imperfectly human. The storyline in this book was much better, there was no confusing beginnings or boring parts. The action basically stars at the beginning and continues at a regular pace throughout the whole book. It's not a crazy amount of action (ie. if you're an action fan, this ones probably not for you), but its enough action to keep you engaged in the story.Fair warning, this book does have a cliff-hanger ending (sort of). I'm dying to pick up the last book and find out what happens to both of the sisters and where their story lets off.I highly recommend this series to all fantasy fans. It's an amazing read that will have you falling in love with the characters and the world that Kelley created.Happy Reading,Aneta

Really enjoyed this sequel! There was one thing that mildly got on my nerves and something else that has me truly conflicted. But everything else was great.

Rating: 4.25/5Review coming soon!