A review by pceldridge
Aisling: A Spell Unbinding by A.E. Jürgens

adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I did enjoy this, but found that the first 70% was slow and then everything happened all at once. Especially in the last 10%, I couldn’t put it down. I did really enjoy having chapters from Lir’s POV in this book. 

I wish we had learned more of the Fionn rivalry throughout this book (and I don’t remember any of it mentioned in book one). I thought that was a great storyline but the background wasn’t fleshed out very well, and we were told about it more than shown. Also Fionn is a total creep. I feel the same about the Danu usurpation storyline - it felt like I had missed the buildup to her wanting to dethrone Lir and then all of a sudden it was happening. We were left to figure out on our own that that’s why she probably spat them out in different times, to make him mad and further her goals. 

At the end of the day, I still had trouble really believing the connection between Lir and Aisling for most of the story. There just wasn’t enough detail and emotional building there, and I think it could have been done more thoroughly to really hit that fated mates setup. Hopefully we see more of their connection and partnership in the third book. 

The last 10% though… that was amazing.