Rereading Kiki Strike: The Empress's Tomb by Kirsten Miller

From the prologue: The whispers began the day she arrived on horseback at the gates of the Emperor's palace. They knew her long journey had begun beyond the great wall belong built to the west. A princess of the Xiongnu, the barbarian tribes who waged endless war with China, she had come to marry the Emperor's son. When they saw her, most members of the court agreed. Peace had  been bought at too high a price.

From Chapter 1: Before we begin, take a quick peek out your window. It makes no difference if you look down on a crowded street in Calcutta or a strip mall in Texarkana. Wherever you might be, all the people you see share one thing in common. They've all got a secret they'd like to keep hidden. The dapper gentleman with the briefcase robs parking meters in his spare time. The kid on the bike enjoys eating ants. And the little old lady on the park bench was once known as the Terror of Cleveland. I'm kidding of course. I don't know their secrets any more than you do. That's the point. You never know.

Ah. I just love Kiki Strike. So much. It definitely would be on my Top 20 list. This is the second book in the series. The third book is called Kiki Strike: The Darkness Dwellers, and is coming out in late January. So excited!!! The second book isn't as good as the first, but I still love it. The Empress's Tomb focuses more on Oona, and the secrets that she carries, such as who her father is. Plus, there are giant squirrels mugging people in public parks.

I really love everything about this series. First of all, it's set in New York City, which I'm very familiar in; in Greenwich Village specifically, which right now is the area I'm most familiar with. Whenever we go back, we spend a lot of time in the West Village. Secondly, I just love the characters. They kind of seem to fit into stereotypes: the mysterious girl, the bookworm, the hacker, the mechanic whiz, the chemistry geek, etc. but they're all unique and have their own secrets, as you get to know them better throughout each book.

I must admit that I didn't remember much about this one, except for the fact that it deals with Oona and what the prologue's about has a lot of relevance to the modern-day story. So it was almost like I was reading this book afresh, though obviously I did remember what happened in some critical scenes.

You can't read The Empress's Tomb without having read the first book; so read that one first. If you loved it, you'll love this very good sequel too.

Read Kiki Strike: The Empress's Tomb:

• if you loved or liked Kiki Strike and want to read the sequel

369 pages.

 

Outstanding Book That Will Stay On My Bookshelf For Rereading (jf I own it)!