Book Review | The Master of Misrule by Laura Powell

Note: This review contains spoilers for the first book in the series. Please see my non-spoiler review of The Game of Triumphs HERE.

The Master of Misrule (The Game of Triumphs, #2) by Laura Powell
Published by Knopf Books for Young Readers on June 12, 2012
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Pages: 384
Format: Hard Cover
Source: Purchased
Goodreads: ★★★★★

When Cat and her friends put an end to the sinister Game of Triumphs, they thought they could simply collect their prizes and walk away. But they unwittingly created a monster. Before the dust has settled, the self-proclaimed Master of Misrule is engineering a sadistic lottery that will unleash the power of the Game onto an unsuspecting London. Misrule's agenda of chaos threatens life as they know it, gambling away free will for fickle fortune. And his power has quickly grown to proportions they never could have imagined. It all comes down to one final play. Cat, Flora, Blaine, and Toby must go back into the Arcanum and take fate into their own hands. This time they have everything to lose.

This spine-tingling follow-up to Powell's The Game of Triumphs is everything you could hope for in a sequel and more! It's every bit as thrilling and complex as the first book, with higher stakes and even a hint of romance added to the mix. 

REVIEW

I was extremely excited to pick up The Master of Misrule after finishing The Game of Triumphs. The cliffhanger was killing me, and I needed to see where the characters would end up. I was surprised that The Master of Misrule picked up right where the first book left off, with no gap whatsoever in the story. While I was reading the books back-to-back, this second book includes a quick recap of the first book at the beginning if you need a refresher. I found that really helpful! 

The Master of Misrule is thus a direct continuation of The Game of Triumphs, but with an added twist. Unlike the first book, where readers only followed Cat, we now get to learn more about her friends Toby, Flora, and Blaine as they work to get the game back under control after setting the Master of Misrule loose. I really liked getting to know the other characters, and I think Powell did an excellent job with character development. When I learned more about what the other characters had at stake, I was more invested in the story. 

I also found that Powell's writing really matured in The Master of Misrule. The book flowed quite easily, the chapters were a good length, and I kept turning the pages to find out where the game would go next. As with the first book, I found that the story was difficult to predict, but each twist and turn in the plot was logical and believable. I especially loved how each character's story wrapped up at the end.

All in all, I really enjoyed the Game of Triumphs duology. I would love to see this repackaged as a bind-up of the two volumes, as one can't read the first book without continuing on, and because they take place without any lapse in time between the two. The story is imaginative, the characters are complex, and the ending is incredible. I highly recommend this series to anyone looking for a good young adult fantasy, especially those who are fans of the movie Jumanji. Trust me. 

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