In the sequel to The Fever King, Noam Álvaro seeks to end tyranny before he becomes a tyrant himself.
Six months after Noam Álvaro helped overthrow the despotic government of Carolinia, the Atlantians have gained citizenship, and Lehrer is chancellor. But despite Lehrer’s image as a progressive humanitarian leader, Noam has finally remembered the truth that Lehrer forced him to forget—that Lehrer is responsible for the deadly magic infection that ravaged Carolinia.
Now that Noam remembers the full extent of Lehrer’s crimes, he’s determined to use his influence with Lehrer to bring him down for good. If Lehrer realizes Noam has evaded his control—and that Noam is plotting against him—Noam’s dead. So he must keep playing the role of Lehrer’s protégé until he can steal enough vaccine to stop the virus.
Meanwhile Dara Shirazi returns to Carolinia, his magic stripped by the same vaccine that saved his life. But Dara’s attempts to ally himself with Noam prove that their methods for defeating Lehrer are violently misaligned. Dara fears Noam has only gotten himself more deeply entangled in Lehrer’s web. Sooner or later, playing double agent might cost Noam his life.
Title: The Electric Heir
Author: Victoria Lee
Publisher: Skyscape
Format: Digital ARC
Publication Date: March 17th, 2020
Goodreads//Amazon
Rating: 4.8//5
HOLY SHIT.
This review contains spoilers for The Fever King.
So we jump in six months after TFK ended – Dara is nowhere to be found, Noam is living with Lehrer, and shit is absolutely bonkers.
In the first book, there’s some mention of sexual relationships between Dara and older men, there’s mentions of abuse, both physical and sexual, and other horrible circumstances.
This book dives SO MUCH further into these topics. We dive further into the sexual and physical assault that Dara experienced as a child. This book talks about the signs of abuse, what counts as abuse, and the lingering trauma and pain that stays with you.
I loved this story so much, but it is a very heavy read. The heart of the story is abuse and power – and what happens when people take our power away.
So lets dive into the actual story part now shall we?
This story is a lot more character based than The Fever King. There’s still a major plot – the bringing down of Lehrer and his government control, but there’s a lot more focus on Noam and Dara finding themselves.
I love the way that Noam and Dara’s relationship changes in this book – Dara is on one side of the fight, doing what he can to stop the virus, help fight within the resistance. And then there’s Noam’s side, whose working from the shadows, where no one is quite sure what side he’s on.
Noam’s relationship with Lehrer in this book is fascinating. Right at the beginning we’re introduced to the idea of Lehrer and Noam being in a sexual relationship. The dynamic of their relationship is extremely well written. Noam knows about the abuse that Dara went through with Lehrer, and although he doesn’t remember it all when he first gets involved, he still continues the relationship after he remembers the truth.
I loved watching this relationship unfold – how it effects Noam’s internal beliefs about who he is, his relationships with his friends, and his relationship with Dara.
Noam’s story arc of growing up (remember he’s only 16!), dealing with his first real relationships, abuse, and just dealing with the dangers of the world they live in was amazing. Noam was such a well written and flushed out character. He still made some really stupid ass decisions, and there were some moments where I just wanted to shake him and scream “USE YOUR FUCKING HEAD” but hey, it would be boring if characters only made intelligent decisions.
And then there’s Dara – I fucking love Dara. We got a lot of his POV in this book and I loved all of it. We learned a lot more about his childhood – his eating disorder, the sexual and physical abuse he suffered, and how he lived his life being able to read the minds of others.
Dara’s story arc is INCREDIBLE. He’s weakened, he’s powerless, and he’s away from the suffocating control he dealt with everyday of his life. I loved watching this beautiful boy grow and discover who he is and who he wanted to be.
I HIGHLY recommend this series. The plot is amazing – I love the whole idea of the magical virus and how it effects different people, and then there’s the HOW of the virus and the truth about Lehrer, and just the world in general. But this book is so much about the characters, it’s about acceptance and control, it’s about pain and abuse and how to survive when your world is ripped apart. It’s about so much more than a magical virus, and I absolutely loved it.
The Fever King is officially on sale TOMORROW, and everyone should go buy it.
(Also you can order it on Kindle for only 4.99 which is an amazing price so go do that now)
*Thank you NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Caffeinated Book Owl 