Cast into exile, she must return to free her people.
Banished from her underground home by Betony, the queen of the Cornish piskeys, young Ivy sets out to forge a new life for herself in the world above. But a deadly threat lingers in the mine, and Ivy cannot bear to see her people suffer while Betony refuses to believe. Somehow she must convince the queen to let them go.
Her mission only becomes more complicated when Ivy starts to dream of the ancient battles between her ancestors and the spriggan folk. Who is the strange boy in her visions? Could her glimpses of his past help Ivy find a new home for her fellow piskeys?
To find the answers, Ivy must outfly vicious predators, outwit cunning enemies, and overcome her own greatest fears. And when evil threatens the people Ivy loves best, it will take all her courage, faith, and determination to save them.
The excerpt on the back cover, plus the cover art of Nomad. All credit goes to the author, R.J. Anderson.
Intrigued? Read on:
Oh. My. Word.
All the feels. I cannot tell you how many times I had to put Nomad down to calm myself or go rant to someone about some character who acted like an idiot or an unexpected plot twist. You know a book is good when you get so invested that you have to put it down!
The first book in this series, Swift, was so interesting and so full of plot twists that I could hardly put it down. My eyes were glued to the page. Nomad, on the other hand, sucked me in so completely that I had to step away so I didn’t explode with anger or joy.
What I love:
Nomad felt like such an expansion on the world of Swift, the world we were just starting to get comfortable with—which make sense, because that’s exactly how Ivy felt. We venture far beyond the abandoned mine that she inhabited for most of her life, into places far more complex. Trees that are kingdoms and abandoned valleys and dark little shops. Each location is lush with hidden secrets and a buried past.
As I stated above, Nomad really drew me in. I was completely invested in the book. An infuriating love triangle wove itself among another corkscrew of plot twists that had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. R.J. Anderson has a special talent for flipping expectations over and over again. Assume nothing!
Except that Martin is singularly awesome. You can assume that all you want.
I also absolutely and entirely fell in love with one of the characters. I spent the whole book trying to unravel his past. Also obsessing over how cool he was. And laughing at his wit. And yelling at the main character for not admitting that she loved him….
What I don’t love:
I know I added this as a part that I loved, but I also despised the love triangle. It really added conflict to the story and was completely necessary, but at the same time…so frustrating!
Another thing—I would suggest reading the trilogy that occurs before Nomad‘s trilogy, even just so that you can understand all these allusions to past characters and events.
I’ve only read the first of that series, Knife, so I understood some of it, but I had clearly missed a lot by not reading the other books, Rebel and Arrow. I’m sure I would have loved to see those characters return—but only if I had actually read the other series first!
Content warnings:
Romance and death.
A love triangle like the one that I mentioned before usually implies, well, love. This one did indeed end with romance. Not that I’m complaining. There was minimal to no physical touch, but a kiss did occur.
An old man died (of age and sickness), a faery nearly died and was badly wounded—but all that R.J. Anderson really described was the smell. Someone impaled themselves on a sword—again, no gory detail—and (MINOR SPOILER) a bird wounded Ivy with its talons. This included no details but the pain and brain fog she experienced (MINOR SPOILER).
Ratings:
Appropriate content: 4.5/5
Story construction: 4.5/5
Writing skill: 4/5
Ethics: 4.5/5
Conclusion:
Altogether, R.J. Anderson has taken the magic of her past works and combined it all into one wild tale of a piskey trying to save her people. But deep down, this is a story of two people overcoming the obstacles of their past to finally love each other.
And I’m a sucker for romance.
I loved Nomad even more than the first novel, Swift, and cannot wait to dive into the third, Torch, and see the conclusion of Ivy and Martin’s tale. I highly recommend this second installment in the Flight and Flame Trilogy, and award it 4.5 out of 5 cups of tea.
God bless!
—Astor
Psst! Curious about the first book in the series? Find the review here—Swift by R.J. Anderson.
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And finally, please comment below and let me know what you thought! Questions, thoughts, and critiques are welcome. Comments show that you spent the time to read my post and enjoyed it!
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