4.5 stars.

My most anticipated sequel for this year sort of blew me away. The first book is such an intelligent political mystery that I wasn’t sure if the sequel could stand toe to toe with it, but I finished it feeling like I’d just run a very emotional marathon. I went from heavy breathing, to full blown sobbing, to elated exhaustion within the final 20 pages.

Hollow Empire takes place two years after the siege of the first book, and now magic is on the rise in deadly forms while our main characters are also trying to navigate political waters with their neighbouring countries. Jovan and Kalina’s family is being sabotaged by something nefarious and attacks on the city leave them wondering whether the rebellion from two years before is awakening again with magic as a weapon instead of poison. The plot of this book immediately kicks off and maintains a really fantastic pace throughout. Jovan and Kalina remain incredibly strong characters; Kalina in particular has brilliant character growth and goes from hesitant at her place in the world, to fearlessly fighting for her political role. Jovan in contrast has grown paranoid and diminishing respect from his suspicious peers sends him on a desperate journey to understand who their enemy is this time. Hadrea I felt was lacking some depth; in the first book she’s angry over the way her people have been treated by Sjon and how their history has been trampled on. In the sequel, she doesn’t really seem to have developed past that. Although her consistent anger makes sense and is something I agree with, I was hoping she had grown or changed in the time jump, but her stubborn anger at Jovan grew tedious and because we do not have her POV, we didn’t have her thought process for some of her jarring decisions or dialogue.

Relationships in this were solid again. I loved the development of Hadrea and Jovan; their slowly dwindling romance gives way to really interesting unsteadiness and doubt between them. I remain a Jovan/Tain truther and the breadcrumbs in this were delicious (make it canon Sam you can have my firstborn) and the start of the romance between Kalina and Abae was really lovely and their dialogue was very touching and I imagine incredibly relatable for many lesbians. Kalina and Jovan’s sibling bond as well as Kalina and Tain’s dynamic - Kalina growing from seeing him romantically to “a second brother” - was really well done and the protectiveness between all three of them is very compelling.

The mystery surrounding the events of this book was brilliantly done again too. The first book had me attached and subsequently betrayed by the reveal of the spy and so this time round I was determined to not get attached to any side characters who could possibly be the enemy. Even then, I was still shocked and engrossed in the unfolding of the final events and how the main characters were going to get out of it. This isn’t 5 stars because I did feel like the conclusion was a little easy, but the potential consequences of those events made up for it. This book has a wonderful tension which is especially prevalent at the end, but throughout there are moments where my heart rate really picked up and I was fighting not to skim because I was desperate to know how things would go. It’s a little darker and the magic in this a little scarier and dangerous and it builds a far more threatening atmosphere that is quite different from the first book.

Overall, this is a wonderful and severely underrated series. It’s so consistent that I can’t even claim I enjoyed either book more than the other. If you’re a fan of political mysteries and fantasies, this series is a must read and if you loved the first book, I can’t imagine you’d be disappointed by this. Now all I have to ask is: is there a third book???

(I will work this up into a review for The Fantasy Hive in time, but couldn't wait to read this, so here are my early thoughts.)

First, City of Lies was one of my favourite reads of the last few years because it was a remarkable blend of standard fantasy fare like intrigue, peril, magic but with characters and worldbuilding that were subtly unique. Nothing about the setting is taken for granted (i.e. just lifted from our world), and the choices about the type of fantasy world it is flow through all the characters and the plot. This made for a unique and transportive experience, though occasionally jarring and not without a few rough edges.

For Hollow Empire, Sam Hawke has kept all the remarkable uniqueness of the first while leveling up every aspect of storytelling, from plotting to characterisation, to make it not only a worthy sequel, but one that realises the full potential of the series - and leaves you wanting even more.

This book is in some ways almost a replay of the first, retaining everything I loved about it - the intrigue, the small team of outsiders struggling to prevent disaster, a way of life under threat but worth saving - while expanding all of it - the world, the set of characters, the dimensions of intrigue - in astounding ways.. It's history repeating, but in a city and to people scarred and striving to adapt after the events of the first book. The sense of innocence the characters had in City of Lies has been well and truly shattered and has not recovered here, which in some respects is a bit of a shame, but makes for a gripping, perilous tale. And just because innocence is lost, that doesn't mean they aren't still fighting for it.

With the full introduction of Silasta's many and diverse neighbours, the world really fills out - and with the added aspect of diplomacy, the intrigue levels up from checkers to 3D chess. Favourite characters return - a bit older, a bit wiser, a bit more damaged - and new ones are introduced that fit perfectly into the gaps, making it all the more heartbreaking when the plot puts them through the wringer. This book delivers mystery, suspense, thrills, action, setbacks, puzzles, red herrings, emotional gut-punches, moments of despair and triumph, and even a little romance, taking what made the first so special and delivering a true fantasy masterpiece. I really hope we haven't seen the last of the Poison Wars, but this book has, for me, cemented its legacy.