Infinity Reaper by Adam Silvera: A Vast Improvement
What: Infinity Reaper (Infinity Cycle #2) by Adam Silvera
Who: HarperCollins
When: March 2nd 2021
How: A copy of this novel was provided by SparkPoint Studio.
Emil and Brighton Rey defied the odds. They beat the Blood Casters and escaped with their lives–or so they thought. When Brighton drank the Reaper’s Blood, he believed it would make him invincible, but instead the potion is killing him.
In Emil’s race to find an antidote that will not only save his brother but also rid him of his own unwanted phoenix powers, he will have to dig deep into the very past lives he’s trying to outrun. Though he needs the help of the Spell Walkers now more than ever, their ranks are fracturing, with Maribelle’s thirst for revenge sending her down a dangerous path.
Meanwhile, Ness is being abused by Senator Iron for political gain, his rare shifting ability making him a dangerous weapon. As much as Ness longs to send Emil a signal, he knows the best way to keep Emil safe from his corrupt father is to keep him at a distance.
The battle for peace is playing out like an intricate game of chess, and as the pieces on the board move into place, Emil starts to realize that he may have been competing against the wrong enemy all along.
If you read my review of Infinity Son you’ll know that I wasn’t completely blown away with it, and there were things like structure and character development that I felt needed more work. In my review I said I hoped that Infinity Reaper would build upon these aspects and I’m happy to say that it most certainly did.
Infinity Reaper is a much longer book than its predecessor, and this extra length really allowed the characters to grow into themselves, as well as their relationships and situations. Instead of Ness and Maribelle having one or two chapters like they did in the previous book, the two characters were given much more page time which allowed me as a reader to get to know them more and therefore care about them more. This was especially the case with Ness, who is fast becoming my favourite character in the whole series (and who I ship the most with Emil!).
There was one thing that really made me appreciate Infinity Reaper, and that was the Halo Knight phoenix sanctuary. Halo Knights are humans without any special powers who take it upon themselves to serve and protect phoenixes from those who would harm or kill them. The better part of Infinity Reaper takes place at one of their phoenix sanctuaries, and I wish it was a real place because I would go there! And become a Halo Knight if I had any physical skills. But anyway, this place has all kinds of different phoenixes, including little baby ones. There’s a scene where Emil is in their nest area and it was such a soft and lovely moment. I adored it.
Throughout the course of the novel Brighton became a character I liked less and less, and I could see who he was going to become from a mile away. I don’t know how he and Emil turned out so different but I guess Brighton’s hunger for fame really gets in the way of everything, including being a decent person. I’m interested to see how his arc progresses further in the series, and I truly hope he ends up being a better person than he is now.
The romance element in Infinity Reaper was increased from the first book, but it also formed a bit of a love triangle. I don’t mind because we haven’t had enough of this trope in queer books so I won’t have any complaints from people who were happy to read it a thousand times in non-queer books. I do have a firm favourite in Ness, but I also really like the new love interest, too. To be honest I don’t think Emil will be going wrong with either of them, but I do hope the one he doesn’t choose gets to be happy, as well.
In the end I’m really happy I read Infinity Reaper because I have a new queer fantasy series that I’m invested in. I can’t wait until the next book because apparently Silvera loves torturing us with cliffhangers in this series and book two was no different. Hopefully the wait isn’t too long!
© 2021, Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity. All rights reserved.
trigger warning adopted main character, blood and gore, reference to torture, reference to multiple parent deaths, references to animal abuse and cruelty, physical fights, murder, discrimination, reference to suicidality, reference to child abuse, reference to death of significant other, main character with anxiety and depression, reference to panic attack, hostage situation
