Review: The Crystal Facade

The Crystal Facade by Debra L. Martin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Disclosure: I received a copy of the first ebook in this series from the author in exchange for an honest review. After first reviewing and then editing it, I was asked to edit this book for re-release, and therefore provided editing for later editions of it. I do not receive remuneration for sales, nor did this in any way affect my opinion of the novel.

My synopsis: In this sequel to The Quest for Nobility, the stakes are raised even higher. Darius, now the Duke of Telkur, and his sister Dyla – now Darius’s First Counselor – along with her boyfriend Eclasius “Eclair” Jortac are convinced that there is more to the situation on Earth than meets the eye. Sir Henry “Blackheart” Hanover looks too much like Grand Duke Vogdo for it to be a coincidence, and they still don’t know why Earth was quarantined in the first place. To make things more urgent, Dyla has been having visions that leave her feeling afraid and unsettled, and the latest one has ended with the looming face of Blackheart. She and Eclair decide that they must go back to Earth to discover the truth, and to take Cat Spencer back as well. Darius decides, while they are away, that he will do his best to help stop the civil war in Beckson Duchy – a decision that is helped along by his attraction to Cristaline, the beautiful daughter of Duke Urias. Tyrian, who is a close friend to all three of them, and affianced to Trinity, Dyla and Darius’s cousin, has his own role to play as he tries to infiltrate the Red Alliance.

My Thoughts: A fast-paced and exciting book, I spent much of it alternately yelling at the characters for doing ridiculous things and at the authors for putting the characters through such distress. It was highly engrossing and, in a rare change of pace, even better than the first book. Because I was editing it at the same time I was reading it, I took a few days to get through it, but it wasn’t for lack of interest. Anyone who enjoys science fantasy adventure should enjoy this second book in the Otharian series – don’t miss it!




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