Nov 23, 2013: Bron and Calea’s adventures continue (from The Select’s Bodyguard), and I was kind of amazed this sequel is written by a different author (from The Children of the Wells writing team) and yet they are so seamlessly the same characters. It wasn’t like reading another writer’s interpretation of them – it was, hello again, Bron and Calea.

This novel has a new character, Nyasha, who plays off the initial two in interesting ways. In contrast to these two intense, serious characters, Nyasha is a bubbly, practical no-nonsense young lady, but she is quite young, and bereaved, so there’s a naivity and vulnerability in her. If you’ve read the Select’s Bodyguard, and been yearning for someone to stand up to Calea, here she is! Also, Nyasha may have a bit of a crush on Bron.

There are some dangers and challenges for the characters to overcome, but in terms of the overarching plot of the Children of the Wells series, this novella doesn’t move us very far forward. I suppose it’s too soon to hope for any clues as to why all the magic disappeared from the world. The end is a bit of a low point, clearly a segue into the next Bron/Calea/Nyasha offering that will appear in the series, but doesn’t give the feeling of a self contained novella as much as The Select’s Bodyguard did. One thing I would like to see is more emphasis on worldbuilding. Outside of the Select and the Wells, it seems a rather generic world.

Overall, this was a well-written and enjoyable read, with character development and interaction as a strong point.

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