A shadow crown

Blair disappoints in her disjointed second Halfling Saga fantasy, which picks up where A Broken Blade left off. Though Halfling Keera Kingsown is still bound to her duty as the King's Blade, she has joined the resistance movement to overthrow callous King Aemon, her adopted father, and works with her new companions in Faelinth to devise war plans--but a mole leaks information to the enemy. As they juggle preparing for war with rooting out the traitor, Keera also struggles to learn more about her own family history. Meanwhile, the rebels discover High Lord of the Harvest Curringham's unlawful plot to hoard an exotic fruit called winvra and smuggle Halflings out of Elverath. Sinister enough on its own, this scheme serves as a front for far more sophisticated treason. Myriad subplots drag the pace­ and are jarring to toggle between; even worse, the threads fail to tie together into a coherent whole. All but the most devoted series fans will be underwhelmed. (May)

Picking up where A Broken Blade left off, Keera, who was forced to become a royal spy and assassin, finds herself having to adjust to new directions in the plot to overthrow the monarchy. This twist has shaken her fragile trust in the fae Riven and has led to her joining Prince Killian in the Faelands. Her time there provides some delightful respite as the story details the fascinating city of Myrelinth with its magical tree dwellings and portals, along with a satisfying romantic interlude, but even here there is danger, since someone in their midst is a traitor. Ultimately, though, learning more about her origins and healing abilities does not prepare Keera for what she will face at the king's palace. VERDICT While still full of action and intrigue, Blair's fantastic second book in the gripping "Halfling Saga" gives space for more introspection as Keera searches for answers about her family and her magical abilities and realizes that she'll need to rely on others to achieve freedom for herself and all of the Halflings.--Melissa DeWild