I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The Reader was 2016’s most underrated fantasy title. With vivid world-building, swashbuckling adventure, a softly built romance, and a brilliant heroine, The Reader should have been on every single “Top Books of 2016” list. With The Speaker, Traci Chee builds on her world and crafts a sequel that is enchanting and complex. Driving the story forward is Sefia and Archer’s need for revenge, a task that sends them down a dangerous road. Anger/rage, depression, anxiety, and PTSD are explored and woven into the story beautifully, and with a diverse cast of new characters, Chee’s book answers the call for diverse fantasy.
The Speaker by Traci Chee, (List Price: $10.99, Speak, 9780147518064, June 2018)
Reviewed by Shauna Sinyard, Park Road Books in Charlotte, North Carolina