Review: A Gallery of Mothers by J.S. Latshaw

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“Happiness from long ago that hasn’t carried into today turns into a sadness that’s too much to bear.”

Release Date: March 30th, 2020

Genre(s): Young adult, Fantasy, Dystopia

Publisher: Fernweh Books

Pages: 544

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis

A Gallery of Mothers is the sequel to The Threat Below. Mountaintop, the last known village of humanity, is at risk of its end, and only Icelyn Brathius can save it. But in order to do so, she must travel to a legendary tower in the middle of an unforgiving desert – and face the truths that she’s given.

Review

Oftentimes it’s rare for me to enjoy the second book in a series more than the first, especially if it’s a trilogy. I often feel like second books contain filler content more than anything and would be best suited as a duology. However, I did not find that to be the case at all with A Gallery of Mothers – in fact, I liked it much more than the first! I think the writing is a great improvement from the first, and everything I was hoping to be explored in this installment was.

Something that I really wanted to see when reading A Gallery of Mothers was more to do regarding the world below, and more about the setting’s history. We get that in this book, but in ways I didn’t expect! We learn so much about why the world got to be the way it was, and it gives this dystopian element to it (which is personally something I love to see in books, especially mixed with other genres). That being said, this addition also came with a bit of speculative nature to the book, which, again, is something I love to come across in books.

This addition to the book also came with a Now and Then perspective. Usually, these are very hit or miss for me, especially if one perspective is much more interesting than the other. But for A Gallery of Mothers, I was equally invested in both timelines. Now and Then timelines can also make for confusing narratives, which, again, I did not find to be the case here. This element brought too much to the table in terms of worldbuilding and exploring the vastness of this world, and it gave me everything I was hoping for in book two and more.

In my previous review, I noted that this book is a good pick for adults that are interested in young adult, and I still stand by that. Between the unique world, the writing, and the speculative/dystopian nature of this book, I think this is a great series for those that are interested in reading about younger characters.

All in all, I really enjoyed this second installment of Brathius History. Between the worldbuilding and the mixture of genres, I really like what this series has to offer. I’m looking forward to Latshaw’s future works!