My review
My book review of Rites of the Starling
- Author
- Devney Perry
- Series
- Shield of Sparrows #2
- Release date
- April 7, 2026
- Read from
- 30.04.2026 – 16.05.2026
Book facts
Archetype
- Primary: Power Seeker (discovering hidden truths, facing supernatural threats, embracing destiny, overcoming obstacles, fighting for a greater purpose)
- Secondary: Emotional Alchemist (processing grief and trauma, navigating complicated relationships, learning through hardship, emotional resilience and self-discovery)
Tropes
Spice level
Medium. The romance remains a slow burn, with the emotional connection and fantasy plot taking priority over physical intimacy. There are several open-door scenes throughout the book, making it noticeably spicier than Shield of Sparrows, but the spice still occupies a relatively small portion of the overall story. Most of the focus remains on the adventure, worldbuilding, mysteries, and character journeys rather than the romance itself.
POV
Multi POV. The story follows multiple characters, allowing readers to see different perspectives as the plot expands and the mysteries deepen.
Vibe
Magical · Adventurous · Atmospheric · Mysterious. A fantasy story filled with secrets, dangerous journeys, ancient powers, and an ongoing battle between fate and free will.
What I loved
- The pacing remained strong throughout the book.
- Even though I predicted many of the major developments, I was never bored.
- The worldbuilding continues to be one of the strongest aspects of the series.
- I loved how the story explained events from both the first and second books.
- The answers to several mysteries felt creative, unique, and surprisingly well thought out.
- The world itself remains compelling enough that I absolutely want to continue reading the series.
The highlights
The Worldbuilding
The strongest aspect of this book was easily the worldbuilding. I especially enjoyed how the story connected events from earlier books and provided explanations for mysteries that had been building throughout the series. The answers felt creative and made sense within the established world.
The Story Execution
Although I guessed the ending when I was only about 30% into the book, I still enjoyed watching the story unfold. The plot may not have surprised me, but it was executed well enough that I stayed invested throughout the journey.
The Series Potential
Even after finishing the book feeling disappointed overall, I'm still excited to continue the series. The world remains fascinating, and that's a testament to how strong the foundation of the story is.
Characters
Unfortunately, the characters were my biggest disappointment.
Odessa didn't experience much meaningful growth throughout the story. I also found myself becoming frustrated by how often she needed rescuing by other people.
The same issue applied to Caspia. After a while, it started feeling repetitive watching both characters constantly rely on outside help whenever things became difficult.
Caspia also felt too similar to Odessa. I kept wishing there was something more distinctive about her personality because they often felt like different versions of the same character rather than two unique individuals.
The romance was another area that didn't work for me. Compared to the first book, something felt emotionally missing.
Ransom, in particular, lost much of the charisma that made me enjoy him previously. Overprotectiveness can be attractive, but it can't be an entire personality, and unfortunately that was what his character started to feel like here.
What didn't work
Predictability
My biggest issue with the book was how predictable it felt. I correctly guessed the ending when I was only around 30% into the story, which meant the final reveal lacked the impact it was clearly meant to have.
The Setting
While I still enjoyed the worldbuilding overall, the actual setting often felt chaotic. The characters were constantly moving from place to place without spending enough time anywhere for the locations to feel grounded or memorable. Many scenes blurred together because I never felt fully immersed in where the characters were.
Convenient Rescues
There were also quite a few moments where outside help appeared exactly when it was needed. No matter how difficult a situation became, it often felt like a prayer, coincidence, or rescue would suddenly solve the problem. As a result, the stakes never felt quite as high as they should have.
Character Development
I struggled with the lack of meaningful growth from several characters. Because I wasn't deeply invested in many of them, some emotional moments failed to land as strongly as I had hoped.
The Romance
I preferred the romance in the first book by a significant margin. This time around, the relationship felt flatter and lacked the emotional depth that originally made me care about it.
My final thoughts
This was one of those books that I liked more than I loved.
The plot was predictable, the character development left me wanting more, and the romance lacked the emotional spark that made the first book so enjoyable.
However, the pacing remained solid, the worldbuilding continued to be fascinating, and the explanations behind many of the story's mysteries were genuinely clever.
I think part of my experience may also be influenced by how much fantasy and romantasy I've read recently. After a while, certain plot twists, character archetypes, and story structures begin to feel repetitive and easier to predict. That isn't necessarily the book's fault, but it definitely affected my enjoyment.
Maybe my expectations were simply too high because I loved the first book so much. I really wanted to love this sequel. Instead, I finished it feeling disappointed, even though I can still recognize many things it did well.
Despite that, I'm absolutely continuing the series because the world remains strong enough to keep me invested.
Would I recommend it?
Absolutely yes. Even though this sequel didn't fully work for me, there's still plenty to enjoy. If you loved the first book, I think it's worth continuing the series for the worldbuilding alone. Just be prepared for a story that may feel more predictable and a cast that doesn't quite reach its full potential.
