When I heard that there was a sequel to East, a book I devoured and treasured in high school, I was excited, but a little surprised. East was a fairly open and shut book, being a wonderfully immersive retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon. I wonder if, after 15 years, the author wanted to jump on the "what happens after happily ever after?" train to try and broaden the relationship between Rose and Charles. It, uh....it doesn't go well.

I don't think I've ever read a more unnecessary book. It feels like a retread of the first, especially the third act in particular, as Rose goes off to save Charles from the clutches of the Troll Queen, only now it's their child and for some reason Charles has amnesia. This latter bit was probably the worst aspect of the book for me. Throughout the majority of the story, we don't get the couple we grew to love in East. We don't get to see how their relationship has matured or who they are around each other after three years and a child. It's back to square one, with Charles having as little agency as he had before.

I didn't really care for most of the new characters, except maybe Sib, but only because her involvement gives a little bit more insight into the magic of this world. Estelle was, I have no idea, just a child to tag along and give additional perspective. None of them grew on me like the original cast did. I will say the Morae are a big highlight of the book, with the weaving of the three cloaks scene being the closest this ever comes to feeling like the first book.

Too many perspectives and too short of chapters made the story feel so clunky. Did we really need the mother's perspective? The Troll Queen's? Even when some of those don't even come out to a full page and feel more like interruptions when other characters are going through something far more interesting? 

And as I'm nit picking, let's talk about that cover. It came out along with a redesign of East's cover, having Rose and the white bear on it. Naturally, you would think that the white snake would have an equal amount of importance to the story, given that it's on the cover in a way that mirrors the bear. Nah, this snake is nothing more than a goon for the Troll Queen that maybe has five lines of dialogue in the whole thing. He gets his moments to be evil and threatening sure, but he never goes above the role of effective henchman. Just.....come on, that's a pretty pathetic reflection when you compare the two covers with the context of the story.

If you liked East, I can't say that you should pick this book up as a continuation. At the best of times, which is rare, it does feel like that magical tale of a woman going up against insurmountable odds to save the people she loves, but at the worst, it feels like nothing.