I am WAY late with this review! I swear, I meant to write it a month ago, but I got so busy with grad school stuff. Ugh. Anyway, here we go!
The second book in Leanna Renee Hieber’s Strangely Beautiful series is a lovely and exciting, if somewhat purple, continuation of the sweeping love story introduced in The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker. Hieber takes us deeper into Percy and Alexi’s mystical world, delving into the underworld mythology that controls both of their fates.
I have to say, I’m getting more and more interested in the supporting characters, the members of The Guard whose job it is to protect London from angry spirits. Josephine and Elijah are particularly intriguing, and if I recall correctly, there should be a future book about Lord Withersby, and I can’t wait for it. I also loved Jane in this book, and (no spoilers!) I hope she makes a few appearances in future books.
Percy continues to grow as a character, moving away from the meek girl she was at the beginning of the first book, and I’m very glad for it. As I mentioned in my review of book 1, I’m not the biggest fan of meek heroines, but I quickly developed a soft spot for Percy. It’s nice to see her becoming more and more confident, particularly in her growing mystical powers. Sometimes she giggles and blushes a little too much for my taste, but she’s definitely developing into a good heroine.
Alexi, on the other hand, is kind of going down a path that I’m not fond of. He’s overprotective of Percy to the point of being utterly overbearing, and a few times, I wanted to reach into the pages and smack him. I understand that he loves her and doesn’t want her to get hurt, but he’s smothering her. Luckily, Percy stands up for herself, but I really, really hope that Alexi calms the heck down a bit for the next book.
I think my favorite thing about this book is the Underworld plot. The ghostly former Guard members are great, and I love the battle scene with all of the ghosts. The Underworld scene, where Percy goes to find the key, was fantastic, and I think Darkness is one of the most original, fascinating villains I’ve read in a while. He was utterly creepy in the way he shifts back and forth between flesh and bone.
The prose gets a little too purple for my taste; it occasionally overflows with adjectives, but the story is interesting, and the characters are relatable, and in the end, I enjoyed the heck out of this book.
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