When what you read is too good not to share

It took me over three months to read this novel, but that was because I was in a reading slump and not the fault of the book at all. However, because of the long time to read it cover to cover, there are parts of the beginning that I do not remember. What I do know is that Islington’s plot building and overall imagination have me in awe and extremely envious. That being said, this is a book that you need to pay attention to, which might also be why it took me so long to finish. 

The Strength of the Few starts right were The Will of the Many ends, with the three copies of Vis attempting to figure out what happened to him, where he is, and back on Res, dealing with the grief of losing his arm and his friend. However, war is on the horizon in two of the three worlds and Vis has to use his newly found abilities with Will to try and keep those he cares about safe. However, there are many moving parts within Caten and while Vis know that he has to be part of the system to break it, he soon learns that things are far more complicated than he first believed. In Luceum, Vis is sent to a world that does not know the Empire or their widespread use of Will, but there is a power struggle here as well, one that Vis finds himself a part of even while he attempts to have a simple life. Obiteum is the bleakest of them all, but with more answers about what happened to those who were copied before him and the Cataclysm. There is a time limit however, there is a Cataclysm every three hundred years and the current era is already on borrowed time. Vis, with his power and his copies, is the only person that might be able to stop it. 

There is no way to truly summarize everything that happened in this novel throughout the three separate worlds. While my interest in Luceum and Obiteum wavered now and again, I was always interested in what was happening on Res. Part of it was probably because after the first book we are more established in that world and with those characters, but I also think it was the one that had the most complicated plot. Still, I found myself multiple times mad at one copy of Vis before I realized that this version of him did not know what I, the reader, knew. The way that the POV wove between within one another was masterful and I honestly have no idea what is going to happen next. 

As this is an Epic fantasy, there is death and loss. That being said, there was a part near the back third of the novel that I was getting a bit bogged down with all the things that were going wrong for all the copies of Vis. Again, this might have been the mood I was in while reading, but it was hard to pick it up some times because Vis was being put through the paces again and again in every version. That being said, I think that Islington does a good job of balancing darkness with humor so that this does not slip into the realm of grim dark. Still, when the world is a disaster, sometimes it is hard to slip into a fantasy disaster. 

Vis is such a compelling and likable character. While some people said that he had “Mary Sue” qualities in the first novel, he is kicked around and makes the wrong decisions enough in this novel to shake that criticism I think. I truly care about him and while I have a horrible feeling at the end of this novel that Vis is not going to make it out of this alive, at least not all the versions of him, I trust Islington to stick the landing. Islington is also great at fleshing out the side characters so that they feel distinct from one another and lovable. I did find the villains in this novel a little mustache twirly, but I understood their motivations. 

Bloodwitch was another book that was part of the great reading slump of 2026. Again, this was not the novel's fault, I just lost all interest in reading and especially when this story got extremely stressful. Dennard is really weaving together a story of political maneuvering, ancient powers awakening, and a group of people attempting to do the right thing. It’s really well crafted and honestly, I would say that this is more “new adult” than YA if that was a category we used anymore. 

Bloodwitch continues right on the heels of Windwitch, with Aeduan and Iseult attempting to find Owl’s tribe, Safi still with the Empress of Marstok as her truthwitch attempting to find the corruption in her court, Merik is trying to find a way to save his thread brother Kullen, and Vivia is ready to take her place on the throne of Nubrevnan. Yet, the raider king is ready to make his move, claim the magical portal doors, and take control of the witchlands. Closer to home, individuals that our protagonists thought they could trust have schemes of their own and betrayals now could result in death. Still, Safi and Iseult are attempting to get back to one another, no matter what wars or what powers attempt to keep them apart. 

I cannot go into a lot of detail about the plot as this is the third book in the series and it did take me over a month to read it. I will say that I am impressed by the way that Dennard is weaving together the numerous POV and the way she is writing them so that I am interested in every different plot that is being followed. Still, at it’s heart, this is a character driven novel and I am in love with all of these characters. I was worried for Merik, angry for Vivia, wanting to know is Aeduan and Iseult are going to be honest with each other, and trying to figure out how Safi was going to get back to Iseult. I do want to say that the “inbetween” novella is needed or you are going to have no idea what is going on with the ice mountain and the pull it has. 

If you like cute dog content on instagram, there is a good chance that you have seen Isabel Klee or one of her foster dogs come across your feed. Tiki, a small dog that went from being shut down to a fun and energetic little dog, spawned a saying of “be brave like Tiki”, which broke containment to multiple areas of the internet. I got so many many of her videos, following the journey of Poutine before I hit the follow button. You never know an “influencer”, they choose what they post and share on the internet, yet if there is one person who I feel deserves the brand deals and all the good things that come from being famous on the internet, it’s Isabel. If there is one person who cares about dogs, even the ones that are not photo perfect or easy, it’s Isabel. 

Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I’ve Cried About follows Isabel through her 20s in New York City, interspersed with stories about the foster dogs that she has helped and that have helped her during her fostering journey. Isabel is open about her relationships, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Isabel talks about these relationships and their impact on her with grace and honesty, with sentences that speak to anyone who has lived or is living through their chaotic 20s. While I have never lived in New York City or have the all consuming relationships that Isabel describes, the way that she talks about them is easy to relate to. Isabel also has a way with words and a narrative voice that is almost poetic at times, which people will be familiar with if they watch her videos. She also doesn’t shy away from her own flaws, her own mistakes, but embraces them as part of herself instead of something that has to be eradicated, but understood. That is something all of us could do a bit more of.