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Discovering a love for creating worlds at a young age, Melanie Rodriguez received her degree in writing from Green Mountain College and has lived at a keyboard ever since. She currently resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with an overly excitable Shepsky rescue named Shadow.
A sports fanatic and cosplay enthusiast, she can be followed via her blog, Live to Write and Love to Dream, as well Facebook and Twitter.
Reviewed by Lit Amri for Readers' Favorite
Artemis Ravenwing, the rightful heir to the throne of Blackwen City, struggles to accept her dhampir heritage as she plots to confront Arlina, who murdered her mother to usurp the title of Mistress of Blackwen. Artemis and her allies are heading to Westyron, a human-run city with a deep hatred of other races. The matter becomes complicated when her mother Tamina, who’s now in specter form, has a revenge-fueled agenda of her own.
At first I didn’t realize that Mistress of Blackwen (An Artemis Ravenwing Novel) by Melanie Rodriguez is the second installment of the series until the end of my reading. This might explain the way Rodriguez introduces the world building as the story progresses, as opposed to the usual detailed introduction in the beginning chapters. The same method of approach is used for the characters, where readers get to know them and their backgrounds as the plot unravels. This second book is solid enough as a standalone.
There are many main characters, and I think Rodriguez handles them sufficiently well to avoid overwhelming readers. The story is told from Artemis’ perspective and third person point of view. I’m a staunch fan of well developed, strong female leads and, lucky for me, Mistress of Blackwen has a number of them. Nevertheless, I found Jack the outcast elf fascinating and witty. His presence sometimes outweighs Artemis as a vital tie that binds his friends together. On the whole, I’m a new fan of this character-driven fantasy series and I hope that Book Three is well under way.
