A Psalm of Storms and Silence by Roseanne A. Brown (review)

In this sequel to the West African-inspired fantasy A Song of Wraiths and Ruin (BCCB 7/20), Malik is now sharing a body with the Faceless King and is prone to the whims of Farid, his manipulative mentor who is obsessed with Hanane, the princess of Ziran. Meanwhile, Hanane’s sister Karina is evading capture from the court she once called home and searching for the city of magic users like herself. When Malik and Karina, once lovers, learn of the Rite of Renewal that involves the sacrifice of a queen (Karina in this case, unless Hanane is coronated first), each eagerly sets out to gather the necessary artifacts before the other, as they have to decide what must be given up to save the world. Many of the elements that elevated the first novel sour in this conclusion—the plot is recycled from the first book, with sacrificing either Karina or Malik as once again the goal, and the novel is burdened by excessive star-crossed lover angst. Malik becomes irredeemable as he commits multiple atrocities under Farid and yet barely scrapes the surface of atoning for his actions, making Karina’s immediate forgiveness for said actions particularly dismaying. Still, this will appeal to fans of the enemies-to-lovers tropes, and readers of the first book will eagerly read the conclusion to this duology.