Journey to the Elderoak by K.M. GordonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4 Stars
🌶️🌶️ 2 Spice
It genuinely hurts knowing I have to wait until March to get my hands on the final book in this series. I absolutely ate this book up in just a few hours and honestly wish I’d slowed down so it could have lasted longer, but here we are again.
This is book two in the series, and it pretty much picks up right where the first one left off. Our lead is trying to get to grips with this new place and step up into her role, all while dealing with trauma, a huge amount of guilt, and a lot of pain, and I thought this was portrayed really well. I loved watching her actually go through it, struggle, break, and slowly open up. Normally, books gloss over trauma with a quick “oh no, that was awful” before jumping to the next scene, but not here. When she finally breaks, you really feel it.
The slow burn in this book had me groaning and cursing, but also giggling and kicking my feet. There’s much more longing and deep wanting between the leads this time, and I really enjoyed that shift.
While Raine might not be the lead, he easily became one of my favourite characters in this book. He’s so likeable and clearly carrying his own pain, but he just keeps going and doing his best. This book is full of emotion, and while the main story is still very much at the forefront, there’s a stronger focus on romance, longing, and connection. I also loved seeing how this group isn’t just a random collection of people thrown together, but slowly becomes a family. There might not be blood ties, but there’s a lot of care and love there, and I ate that up.
There’s plenty of action again, but we see a lot less of Deidamia and Andras, which honestly made me nervous. I spent half the book on edge, waiting for them to pop up like a jump scare in a horror movie.
The spice is definitely hotter in this book. Where book one barely dipped its toe in, this one leans into it more, but if you’re looking for nonstop, burn-the-pages spice, this still isn’t that kind of book. The spice works because it’s tied to longing, wanting, and slow burn… and it was totally worth it.
Another thing this series continues to do really well is training. Real training. No one goes to the gym once and comes out ripped. No one takes one swimming lesson and suddenly knows how to swim. This book shows regular, logical training, and I loved how realistic that felt. Overall, totally loved the book.
What I Struggled With:
At times, I felt like more could have happened story-wise. I loved the romance, but it occasionally felt like it took up space where more plot could have fit.
Two moments genuinely confused me and had me questioning things. I don’t want to spoil anything here, but I was definitely left scratching my head.
⚠️ Spoilers ⚠️
Why were there no guards outside the princess’s room while she was in another kingdom? She’s a princess. Corvus would never have had the chance to attack her if she hadn’t been left so exposed.
And the ball scene, she leaves alone to get some air while surrounded by people from different kingdoms, after spotting someone who already freaked her out twice, and no one follows her? No one checks on the creepy guy? And she doesn’t think, “Maybe I shouldn’t wander alone into the gardens right now”? That all felt wildly unsafe and out of character.
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