The Gilded Ones #2: The Merciless Ones

it's so odd to base a story in violent real-life misogyny and rape, and then write a "but both sides!!" argument into it. i genuinely don't think i've ever felt so dehumanized reading a book. how does one proceed to write about systemic rape, sex slavery, forced marriage, vaginal mutilation, a whole plethora of crimes against women and then conclude that it's because women used to be mean to men in the past? there was exactly one sane character in the book—she disliked males because she spent a millennia being tortured by them, and here goes our dickmatized loser main character pretending that she's the one who is insane. the amount of gender traitorism going on here, you would think it was satire of incel ideology, but no, everyone in this book is completely serious. what makes this so disappointing is that the first book was so well written, both in general and in regards to women's rights, and then this happened out of nowhere. it's bizarre.

Although I didn't like it as much as the first as it happens with this kind of middle parts, I loved how the main character has a whole support team that help each other. Friendship, support and mental health are the underlying themes of the book, which is not as common to find in a fantasy story - - usually caught between action and atmosphere.

This is the sequel to The Gilded Ones which some of you may recall was one of my top reads from 2021. Might I just add, again, with this awesome cover??? This one was unfortunately less concise, and therefore, a disappointing sequel for me. This read like it was edited and changed many times over, but unfortunately it still showed. As some of you may have picked up on at this point, I truly despise and agonize over dream sequences in fantasy novels. This one didn’t have them per se, but it had these memory sequences that were from the MC touching other people and seeing into them. It boils down to absolutely the same thing. Is what she’s seeing real? Could it be? What does it mean? And therefore, utterly meaningless to the story. I can’t stress that enough, a lot of my dislike came directly from this, and there were quite a few. Otherwise this is still a feminist and representative read that is worth it for anyone, but especially a young audience. Find new characters that you love and admire even though they look nothing like you. I still found the author’s writing to be well done just like the first, they just happened to come across the one thing I really despise. I also took a brief recess to read something else and normally I read multiples at once, not just stop completely, but this time I did. I think that lost the momentum for me for sure. Personally a 3.5/5* for me, I’d still recommend.

** spoiler alert ** Such a frustrating book!!!!! The first part in this series was amazing, so refreshing. This one was the complete opposite. By trying to be inclusive, it has managed to be dreadful from beginning to end. Out protagonist, Deka, whom I loved in the first book, is apparently now trying very hard to be stupid and annoying. I really wanted to love it, I had such high hopes, but it falls completely flat. So sad.

I struggled with the beginning of the book. It was mostly due to Deka feeling really distant from her friends due to her new status. I pushed on and then, luckily, I was able to get a lot more into it. I had waited awhile in between reading the first and second books and was surprised at how much I had forgotten. The book did a great job of explaining things and reminding me of some key plot points.

I enjoyed the discussion about gender dynamics and equality. The exploration of these issues using fantasy elements was smartly done. I loved how the conversation continued and evolved from the first book, now exploring how the patriarchy crushes men's freedom, too. And reversing power dynamics as revenge is still twisted and unjustifiable.

I enjoyed the power struggle between the gods and how it affect humans, alaki and society as a whole. The world building and the ways that the deities were pulling the strings was super interesting.

My favorite characters were Britta and Belcalis. The sisterhood between the alaki has always been the best part of this series. I loved how they all supported each other and made each other stronger.

3 stars - … Kind of a disappointment. A lot of trilogy-authors drop the ball on the second book which makes me hesitant on reading sequels, including this one. I mean, the first chapters put me in a reading slump… At least this book was better than Children of Vengeance and Virtue, which also took me forever to read. However, The Merciless Ones has a lot of twists and turns, but I feel like the author took way too long to address certain things and also kept repeating stuff way too many times. Both things made me lose interest in the storyline. Anyway, off to the last book I guess.

While The Gilded Ones ended on a hopeful note, The Merciless Ones starts off with the corpses of four young women mounted on pikes. It’s set 6 months after the goddesses were freed by Deka and focuses on the backlash by the jatu, who now seem to be more powerful than ever after get their hands on some arcane objects. Deka, as the Nuru, the child of the four goddesses fights against these priests while dealing with her own PTSD. She is joined by her bloodsisters, and as they stick together they realise there is something more sinister at play. As they grow in strength they understand that gods can also be created through the power of human belief. In that sense there is a lot to love about the sequel. The idea that gods can be created or at least powered through prayer or belief is a powerful one to say the least. It’s also incredibly relevant in the world that Namina Forna has created in the book, as well as the world we live in today where we know we’ll need to radically change how we live and what we believe in if we want the planet to survive or to ensure that we have rights over the self. The book also challenges the sexist belief that just because women are in charge it’s a utopia. It’s absolutely more about the way we wield power than who wields power that matters; not just your gender. It is also an important lesson on how we make ideals of our gods and heroes, and ignore all the wrong that they have done or are continuing to do so. It’s also great to see how there were so many jatu and alaki. It really adds a really great dimension to the book, not just in terms of the plot, but a commentary on how so many of us are so different, that it’s actually most of us. I liked that Deka grew as a character and constantly tried to be the right sort of hero and role model, but that she was human and needed help. I love her relationship with Keita and I think Namina Forna put in some really positive themes in their relationship, like how he spok to her about how she couldn’t shut him out in situations. That being said, most of her friends blurred into one and didn’t stand out to me. Britta, of course, is always by her side, but I didn’t particularly care for the thing with Li, and Britta as a whole was just a bit annoying to me. My favourite characters in this book were easily White Hands, Elfriede and Anok. I think with White Hands that easy for everyone to understand; she’s badass, but the way Namina Forna depicted her in this was amazing. Like massive respect for Forna. I suppose it’s harder to explain why I like Elfriede. I like her as a character, but not as a person. But I also respect that she did what she could to survive. She collaborated with the existing system to become the first in her role, but even as she died, the priests still couldn’t stand her. “This is another distraction,” she explains. “Another impossible aspiration to distract women from the misery of their lives. To make them dream, if only for a glittering moment, that they can be more. Clever. Insidious, but clever.” I think this quote is emblematic of the greater problem of the book. While it’s a great quote that explains Elfriede’s role in this new society, and is well written, I think it’s moments like these that make the book more suited for slightly younger readers. An older reader may not need something like this spelled out for them. I was also not a fan of how everything turns out perfectly okay for most people at the end. I think one particular character should have stayed dead. There was also this sense that Deka comes into her new powers too quickly. One of the reasons why the first book is interesting is because we see her working towards them; while in this book everything related to her abilities is like second nature to her. I didn’t care for all the happily ever after love stories, they just bored me! While I didn’t love this book as much as the first one, I’m 100% going to be reading the third book because the world Namina Forna created is fantastic! Thank you NetGalley and TBR and Beyond Tours for the chance to read and review this book!

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher! Thanks! All opinions my own. Book: The Merciless Ones Author: Namina Forna Book Series: Deathless Book 2 Rating: 4/5 Diversity: Black main character and MC, trans and non-binary characters, gay characters, lesbian characters, bisexual characters, mobility aid character Recommended For...: young adult readers, fantasy, feminism Publication Date: May 31, 2022 Genre: YA Fantasy Age Relevance: 16+ (Racism, Death, Gore, Violence, Religion, Religious Trauma, Romance, Sexual Assault, Rape, Xenophobia, Abuse, Misogyny, PTSD, toxic masculinity, torture, homophobia, abelism, grief, anxiety attacks, panic attacks) Explanation of Above: There are themes of racism, colorism, xenophobia, homophobia, abelism, and misogyny mentioned and shown in this book and it’s a theme of the series on overcoming those institutions. There is a lot of death and gore, including lots of blood, and violence with weapons. There is some romance in this book. Religion and religious trauma are mentioned and shown throughout the read. Sexual assault and rape are mentioned in the book. Abuse, PTSD, and toxic masculinity are also mentioned and shown in this book. There are showings of the MC having anxiety and panic attacks. There is some torture shown in the book. There is also grief shown in the book. Publisher: Delacorte Press Pages: 432 Synopsis: It's been six months since Deka has freed the goddesses and discovered who she really is. There are now wars waging across the kingdom. Otereans now think jatu are traitors to the nation. Deka is called a monster. But the real battle has only just begun and Deka must lead the charge. Deka is tasked with freeing the rest of the goddesses. Only as she begins to free them, she begins to see a strange symbol everywhere in places of worship and worn on armor. There's something unnatural about that symbol; just looking at it makes Deka lose her senses. Even worse, it seems to repel her powers. She can't command or communicate with the new deathshrieks. In fact, she can't even understand them when they speak. Deka knows freeing the goddesses is just the beginning. She can tell whatever dark force out is powerful and there is something sinister out there threatening the kingdom connected to that symbol--something merciless--that her army will need to stop before humanity crumbles. But Deka's powers are only getting stronger...and her strongest weapon could be herself. Review: For the most part I liked this book. It was a good sequel to the first one and the action picked up immediately where we left off in the first book. Overall, I loved the feel of it and the book makes me want to reread them both immediately after finishing them. I also enjoyed the discussion about gender identity and sexuality. There’s also so much representation in this book! The character development was good, the world building was well done, and overall I enjoyed this book. However, I did have a few issues with the read. The book immediately jumped into the plot of this book and it took me a hot second to remember what all was going on. The book had a lot of romance in it and there were so many people who were just paired off immediately. It was quick and wasn’t well developed in my opinion. The pacing was also a mess. It was incredibly fast paced the entire time and it was hard to keep up in some spots. While I liked the book, I just wanted it to be a bit more slowed down and have some more detail. Verdict: It was good, just a bit too fast for me.