The Worldwalker Trilogy

See my review for Trial by Fire

Firewalker
The Worldwalker Trilogy Book Two
Written by Josephine Angelini
Fantasy, Paranormal, Magic
Published September 8th 2015
528 Pages
Thank you to Pan Macmillan Australia
Add to Goodreads
★★★★
Lily Proctor has made it back to her own universe, and it's finally time for her and Rowan to be happy and relax. True, she almost died in the Pyre that fueled their escape, and they must hide her new magic for the safety of the world, but compared to fighting the monstrous Woven and leading armies in the alternate Salem, life is looking good.

'You think I'm a monster, but my choices, as ruthless as they seem, are justified.'

Unfortunately, Lillian, ruthless ruler of the 13 Cities, is not willing to let Lily go that easily. Lily is the closest version of herself she's ever seen in all her worldwalking, and Lillian's running out of time.

If she can't persuade Lily and Rowan to return to her world, she'll have to find a way to make them come back.
Escaping with only her life and leaving behind a brigade of Claimed Outlanders, Lily has now returned home but is unable to escape Lillian's clutches. With Rowan now in Lily's world, Rowan feels the lure of returning to his own dimension to fight against the injustice of Lillian's tyrannical rule over the thirteen cities. But how can he leave Lily when she's now being hunted in her own world?

Rowan and Lily will need to enlist the services of Lily's friends in Tristan, Breakfast and Una, who are all potential Mechanics and drawn to one another in both dimensions where versions of themselves reside. As Rowan's animosity grows, Lily begins to understand Lillian's motives when the two alternate Witches share memories through Mindspeak. What lead Lillian to eradicate the scientists and why she had sentenced Rowan's father to death.

The more Lily understands, the greater the divide between Lily and Rowan becomes. But when Lily's family is the target of Lillian's henchmen, she soon comes to realise that to keep her loved ones safe, Lily must return to Lillian's dimension and gather her Claimed against the Lady of Salem or risk destroying her world.

Witch's Pyre
The Worldwalker Trilogy Book Three
Written by Josephine Angelini
Fantasy, Paranormal, Magic
Published September 8th 2015
528 Pages
Thank you to Netgalley & Pan Macmillan Australia
Add to Goodreads
★★★★
Lily Proctor has come a long way from the weak, sickly girl she used to be. She has gained power as a witch and a leader, found her way home, chosen to face battle again, and, after losing her first love and being betrayed by her new love, she has learned more about loss and grief than she ever wanted to know.

Thrust once again into a society different from anything they have ever seen, Lily and her coven are determined to find answers to find a new path to victory, a way to defeat the monstrous Woven without resorting to nuclear weapons or becoming a tyrannical mass murderer like her alternate self, Lillian. But sometimes winning requires sacrifices... And when the only clear path to victory lies at Lillian's side, what price will Lily be willing to pay?
Lily now has a new potential ally to contend with. Welcomed into the new community of Bower City, Lily begins to mourn all she has lost over their harrowing journey. Slain friends as a result of the Hive while the Outlanders continue to perish at the hands of the Woven. Bower City is wondrous, a city with a sense of community where Claiming is illegal and people live of their own free will. But in Lillian's world, nothing is ever what it seems.

My Thoughts

The Worldwalker Trilogy was enthralling, a blend of fantasy with a science fiction flourish. Character driven, the series follows the storyline of Lily who was summoned to a world by her namesake, a witch who commands her world with cruelty and genocide. Although Lily has now gained a greater understanding of who Lillian is, it's apparent that the two share little more than namesakes. Both Lily and Lillian were wonderfully written, distinct and refined. In Trial by Fire, the romance between Lily and Rowan felt incredibly awkward, given his connection to Lillian being her former head Mechanic and lover. Firewalker and Witch's Pyre sees the dynamics of their relationship change. Lily continues to engage with Lillian telepathically with Rowan concerned that Lily is being manipulated, when seemingly he also aspires to use the young woman for his own agenda. Against Lillian.

Lily is a relatable and reliable character, deserving of a love interest with charisma and charm. The romance between Lily and Rowan was dubious. Rowan lacks passion and personality, his character felt incredibly rigid and although I do enjoy a stoic love interest, Rowan didn't develop as a character and I couldn't find a sense of who he was apart from being contrived. 

I adored Lillian. Lillian was tenacious and ambitious. She posed her own series of ulterior motives, but through Rowan's lack of trust and feeling of deception, she was painted as the villain. I was elated as a reader to see Lily using her own intuition and not allowing herself to be affected by Rowan and his resentment. All too often, the inexperienced protagonist falls victim to the manipulations of her love interest and seeing Lily confront Rowan was a breath of fresh air. Go Lily!

The friendship between Lily and Tristan is strained, but with the introduction of Tristan's best friend Breakfast and his new girlfriend Una, provided a lightness throughout the storyline. Breakfast and Una were enchanting. Breakfast is compassionate and gentle, while Una prepares herself for battle, Rowan shares Lily's true identity with her friends despite her wishes. While Lily's newly found status justifies why they each feel an attraction to protect Lily, I hadn't expected Lily's friends to be accepting or for Rowan to enlist their aide. If you've just been told your formerly frail friend is an influential witch, you would expect a little more disbelief.

What I absolutely adored was the world building throughout the series, so wonderfully vivid. I enjoyed the contrast between Lily and Lillian's worlds, as varied as the two women themselves. Sadly Rowan's Native heritage isn't explored beyond the concept of Spiritwalking, as taught to Lily by a Native Shaman. The romance felt dubious and the relationship between Lily and Rowan was incredibly insincere but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Final Verdict

Josephine Angelini is a wonderful author, blending fantasy and science fiction seamlessly into a captivating storyline. Vivid world building, fierce female characters and when all too often young adult authors tend to unnecessarily complicate themes of parallel worlds, The Worldwalker Trilogy is effortless and engaging. Highly recommended.

12 comments

  1. OMG! Angelini's Trial by Fire is on my to buy list! She sounds sooooo amazing! :)
    Haniya
    booknauthors.blogspot.com

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    1. It was a wonderful series Haniya, well written and so incredibly entertaining. Definitely pick up a copy of Trial By Fire. I'd love to see what you think of it.

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  2. I'm looking forward to trying this series, the mixture of fierce females, sci-fi and fantasy sounds right up my alley.
    AND I love the way the three covers all link up when laid out next to each other!

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    1. The new covers are absolutely gorgeous! So shiny! The series was so entertaining Sarah, the romance not so much but luckily it doesn't overwhelm the storyline in books two and three. I think you'd really enjoy it.

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  3. This series is growing on me so much, especially with Lily and Lillian as characters. Great review, definitely have my interest!

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    1. Lily's character development was brilliant. Even though they are basically versions of themselves, they were both well defined and so well written. I really enjoyed it.

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  4. I tried the first book in this series and really liked it, but I honestly haven't felt much motivation to pick up the rest of the books. I should though especially if we see more great world building. I agree about the romance though. It felt very insincere to me too in the first book which is probably a reason why I'm not feeling very keen to pick up the rest of the books.
    Great review, Kelly!

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    1. I felt the same way too. The romance was incredible awkward, given Rowan's connection to Lillian. Thankfully it wasn't the main focus in books two and three and Lily started to make her own decisions and it also brought her closer to Lillian as a result.

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  5. YAY, I'm happy you liked these books! I think I tried a Josephine Angelini book AGES ago...but I haven't tried any recent ones...so I think I'll definitely put this on my TBR list - gotta keep up with all the latest releases from authors! :D
    Thanks for sharing, Kelly! :D

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    1. It might have been book one of the series as they've rebranded the covers. It's such an entertaining series, I'd love to see what you think of it.

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  6. did they redesign the books? I really need to read book 1 I do own it, and it looks very interesting. I am glad to hear you are liking them, they seem to be progressing strongly.

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    1. The series just gets better with each book. And they did! I love the new covers, I like how the title doesn't engulf the entire cover. Much lovelier than the dark and gloomy original cover.

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