Itching For Books Presents: Rise of the Arcane Fire Tour

Rise of the Arcane Fire (The Secret Order, #2) Title:  Rise of the Arcane Fire
(The Secret Order Book II)
Author:  Kristin Bailey
Format:  Print
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Rating:  5 Stars

 After her parents died in a fire and her grandfather disappeared, Meg Whitlock thought her life had come to a standstill. But when she learned that the pocket watch her grandfather left her was really an intricate key, Meg, with the help of a stable hand named Will, uncovered the Amusementists: members of an elite secret society dedicated to discovery and shrouded in mystery.

Now the Amusementists are convening in London, and Meg is determined to join their ranks. But being the first girl in the Order has its difficulties, and with Will away in Scotland Meg fears she can’t trust anyone but herself. Her worries are only supported by the sabotage happening at the academy, with each altered invention being more harmful than the last.

With threats lurking around every corner, and while trying to prove her worth as the first female Amusementist, Meg must uncover the identity of the academy’s saboteur before the botched devices become deadly. And after she finds evidence of a sinister and forbidden invention, Meg must stop it - or risk the entire future of the Amusementists.


My Thoughts 

Oh How Far We've Come!

Leaving readers just enough time to gasp for breath and strap themselves in for yet another mile-a-minute, nonstop action, steam punk laden thrill ride.
Authoress, Kristin Bailey, ushers readers back into the secretive, imaginative, and often deadly world that is The Order of the Amusementists.

It seems that having survived a treasure trove of transforming mechanics that would have put the Transformers to shame, avoiding murder at hands of a rouge Order member, destroying a machine that could reweave the fabric of time, and finding love; just wasn't enough for Meg Witlock.
Nope...She and the dashing Will are together again, and it appears that things are just as dire for them in book 2.
That's right folks!
The opening chapters find Meg and Will's happy reunion soured by a bomb.  Nothing says "I love you to death." better than the old 'use your body as a shield to save your sweetheart from the exploding shrapnel trick'.
To make matters worse, or better for those who just can't get enough juice plot lines.
When Meg appears before The Order in the hopes of finding out who wants her dead this time; it is she who manages to create quite the sensation.
This is the only hint that this reviewer is allowing to slip.

For the rest of this most harrowing adventure; you will just have to avail yourself to this reading of this wonderful book.

Let The Book Love Begin


What could possibly be better than Legacy of the Clockwork Key?  Why...Rise of the Arcane Fire, of course!

Meg and Will are older and wiser, and as such their adventures more complex; but that in no way n diminishes the wonder and whimsy that served as a hallmark of the first book.  It would seem that Kristin Bailey's Secret Order, is also a series which builds upon itself.  There is no slowing of action or weakening in plot from book 1 to book 2.  There is also no repeat of action, scene, or plot line from book 1 to 2, making the continuation a wholly new and delightful creature unto itself. 

Meg and Will evolve as people so much within the course of this story.  It is wonderful to experience said evolution as a part of the whole, rather than a distraction from it.
The action and inventions have gotten more complex this time round, and the deeds far more dastardly!
This flight of fantasy is one that you won't want to return from.



Cute Quotables 

"If knowledge exists, then there is nothing preventing me from learning, and learning well." 
-Rise of the Arcane Fire

"Hop, dammit," I muttered as I pushed back form the table and rubbed my burning eyes"
-Rise of the Arcane Fire


All About Kristin

Kristin Bailey
Kristin Bailey grew up in the middle of the San Joaquin Valley in California. As a kid she enjoyed visiting the beach, camping and skiing with her two brothers.

Now she is a military wife and mother of two young children. She is also terrible about spoiling her pets. She has one fluffy mutt, two cats who think they own the world, and a fish tank with a quartet of fat fish, and two secretive striped ninja-assassin snails.

In the course of her adventures, she has worked as a zookeeper, balloon artist, and substitute teacher. Now she enjoys writing books for teens who enjoy mystery and adventure as much as she does.

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