I loved Ms. Snyder’s first Luna book (Poison Study) so much that I was counting the months and days until the sequel came out. Imagine my disappointment when I got the book and didn’t love it like I had the first. What was fresh and sparkling in book one came through as somewhat forced in book two. This was not a terrible book, just a somewhat underwhelming sophomore effort.

The fantasy world of Ms. Snyder’s imagination features two countries in uneasy truce. Ixia is ruled by the Commander who allows no magician to live. His rule overthrew the corrupt royal family that had led the country, and that coup made the neighboring country of Sitia very uneasy. Sitia is steeped in magic and its leaders fear the Commander might take it into his head to conquer them as well.

Though Yelena Zaltana was freed from her job as food taster to the Ixian leader, a warrant was issued for her death. To save her own life, she must return to her family in Sitia even if it means leaving everything and everybody she knows, including her lover Valek. Yelena was born in Sitia but her life was turned upside down when she was kidnapped as a child. She lost her family and her country and has no memory of either. Now forced out of her adopted country of Ixia, she is excited and uneasy about meeting her family and about dealing with the magic that has risen within her.

Meeting her family is both easier and harder then Yelena expected. Her parents are thrilled to be reunited with the daughter they thought to never see again. Her brother, not so much. Leif is convinced that Yelena is not his sister and that she is in Sitia to spy for Ixia. He’s spread that idea far and wide and even when Yelena and Leif travel to the Citadel where she’ll get training as a magician, Leif continues to make her life difficult. While struggling to fit in at her new school, Yelena must deal with her brother’s suspicions, a First Magician who thinks she should be put to death, a secret prince who wants to reclaim his throne, and a serial killer.

What worked so well in Snyder’s earlier book was the straightforward throughline. Yes there were subplots, but the basic story was about how Yelena would survive and if and when she could ever have a relationship with Valek. Though to call it uncomplicated doesn’t sound very admirable, it was clear that Ms. Snyder knew what the story was. And because she did, she had time to develop who her characters were. Exactly the opposite happens in its sequel.

Here there are a dozen story threads and all of them feel rushed. Yelena is barely home before she is departing for the Citadel. Because of the overly fast pace and the many plot points, the characterizations were lacking. Yelena’s brother is all over the place and the resolution of his behavior made little sense. And Yelena must battle a killer and deal with political machinations while trying to learn magic. It’s both too much – and not enough. Of romance, I would have liked a little more (though where the author would find the room, I don’t know). Valek appears in the book but he too is caught up in all the external happenings and as a pair, he and Yelena have little time together.

All of that being said, I still read this one pretty quickly. I like Yelena and her voice. And I like her relationship with Valek – they treat each other with respect and their feelings for one another are very real. I like the world that Ms. Snyder has built. And yet this book isn’t nearly as pleasurable as its predecessor. Here’s hoping that the third in the series slows down a little bit and gives us time to know who these characters are.