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The Holdfasts are still fighting against Empress Bridget and her plans to install her son, Bryce, on the imperial throne of the Star Continent. Especially now that she has the dangerous Dream Mage, Daimon at her side. But the family is still scattered; Sable is evading capture. Kier is still belligerent and angry with wife Thorn. Karalyn is still conflicted between her loyalty to her family and her desire to rescue the Third Ascendent, Belinda. Corthie wants to simply return to Kell with his wife and children, and to finish his jail term, and Kelsey is happy with her life in the City of Salve. Daphne, the matriarch of the family is at her wits end as she tries her level best to keep her children together, knowing that it’s only together that they can achieve their aims. Can she pull them together, one last time, to ensure that Thorn ascends to the throne? Or will her ambitions land her in jail, or worse – on the executioner’s block? Of course, nothing can be easy in the worlds that Mitchell has built, and with two more books due after God Restrainer, we already know that things are going to become even more hairy for the Holdfast family.
What Mitchell has done with God Restrainer is actually magnificent. He’s directed the story away from Corthie and Kier, concentrating on the women of the family. We follow Daphne, Karalyn, Sable and Kelsey on different worlds as they try to go about their own missions. Daphne’s storyline is possibly the most interesting, as far as character development goes in this novel. She goes from that parent who always believes in the best of the worst of her children, to having her eyes opened. It’s a pivotal moment; where she finally see’s her second oldest child for who he really is – and it’s a moment of weakness for the woman who never usually admits she’s in the wrong. In a way, it opens the floodgates for self doubt to creep into everything else she does – as she slowly begins to second guess most of her motives.
Of course, with three other leading ladies, it’s not just Daphne’s character we learn more about. Kelsey is as much of a sarcastic, swearing fire-cracker as ever. Quick wit coupled with her sharp intelligence; she’s one of my favourite characters of Mitchell’s. It’s nice to see that she’s finally carving out her own brilliance within the Holdfast clan; that it’s not only Sable who is beginning to see her worth and brilliance. I just wish she’d pay more attention and value on her visions – some of which are bound to come to fruition in the next two books.
Then of course, there’s Karalyn; the most emotional of the Holdfast women. She’s determined to always do the right thing, hating violence, and wanting to rescue whoever she can because of her actions as a baby and a toddler. She’s also desperate to be a good mother to her twins, to make up for her four year absence and to ensure they don’t hurt anyone with their powers. She can be a little too good; only using her Dream Mage powers for good, never reading someone’s mind unless she can justify it. She’s beginning to melt into someone new, after she finally forgives Sable for her part in her dead husbands actions years before.
And Sable. Oh, Sable. Now intent on righting the wrongs she’s committed on Dragon Eyre, and rebuilding her relationship with the Holdfasts. She thinks she wants a simple life on Dragon Eyre – sailing with Lara on the Giddy Gull, but she knows the death of her dragon will always haunt her. She’s still a ticking time-bomb; not content to simply sit and the worlds go to ruin.
But it’s not just characters that Mitchell has written with brilliant vivacity and clarity. The worlds of the Star Continent, The Salve City, Implactus and Dragon Eyre are as different as the Holdfasts. All with their own perils and geography, and all with their own complicated politics ruling them. Never have I read another series with so many different worlds, all bought to life with perfectly and carefully chosen words. You know immediately which world you’re reading about, and despite the amount of world jumping, you never get confused.
I can’t wait for the next two books.
S. A
You can pick up your copy of God Restrainer from Amazon on November 11th, 2022. It will also be available to read for free on Kindle Unlimited.
I received a copy of God Restrainer directly from Christopher Mitchell in exchange for a fair and honest review. I can not thank you enough, Christopher, for including me on your ARC list.