”Why must you always sacrifice yourself, and call that love?” (404)

The Second Death of Locke by V.L. Bovino should have been titled The Second and Continued Death of This Reader… because phew.

As a 23 year old woman who has engaged with online fandom content since the ripe age of 10, this book gave me all the fanfiction feels in all the right ways. I wasn’t expecting to fall straight into the world as it’s been a while since I’ve taken on a fantasy title; it was like the author knew that and threw me right into the world with the fast paced action and learn-as-we-go lore and world building. I stayed up way past my bedtime that first night I started reading this book, and that was the consistent experience I had…. until about the last quarter of the book.

What I loved about this book was that the stakes were constantly high. There was no slow exposition to introduce the reader to the world, there was no get-to-know-yous with the characters — everything I learned about them, I learned through their actions and interactions. Because really there was no time in the plot to have slow moments. The dire state of the world and the danger they were all always in didn’t allow for explanation, only examples. I loved getting to know the characters in this way, as it made them feel much more palpable. I was making every one of their decisions with them, which made their desperation all the more real.

Editing to add that the first time I wrote this review, I completely left out another HUGE thing that I loved: the casual queer representation. As a queer woman, I don’t tend to read much queer literature because what I have read so far makes the story about being queer, and I yearn for stories where a character’s queerness is as unimportant to the story as their hair color. I love the validation in the former type of books, but I crave the validation of normalcy. This book satisfies that craving, and I didn’t even expect it to! From explicitly noting that almost every single character mentioned had some sort of queer sexuality, to including an openly trans character who’s gender identity does not dictate their arc, to gender neutral names up the wazoo (which, yes, is common in fantasy, but still an incredibly visible tool in terms of gender expression and identity), Bovalino captured my heart by featuring me, and those I love within these characters. If for nothing else you’re looking for casual queer representation, I shout this book’s title at you.

What I didn’t love about this book can be accounted for with one idea: if I was the author, I would’ve split this book into a duology. For the first 50-75% of the story, I didn’t mind the fast pacing — though I did note during one of their journeys that two to three weeks felt as if it passed by in twenty pages. But approximately the last third of the book felt so tonally different from the first two thirds, and it lost me. I felt as if the characters were making decisions not because those decisions were reflections of their identities, but because that was what they had to do to get the plot to completion in the way the author desired. It lost the feel of an AO3 gem featuring my two favorite characters and adopted the aura of a wattpad AU that completely betrayed their canon identities.

The ideas and themes within the book — that of sacrifice, love, power, and the depths to which one will travel to reveal the truth of all three, are incredibly compelling. I think they are much better represented in the first two thirds of the book than the last, even though one could argue that the last third of the book places more importance on those themes as they directly relates to the plot. I do not agree with the choices of the characters towards the end, as they feel antithesis to the cores that were displayed within the first two thirds of the narrative.

All that being said, I’m sure some confusion may arise as to the final rating I’ve given this book. Ultimately, the absolute joy I felt while reading the first 75% of the book was so powerful that the lackluster ending saved the rating. This was a very personal differentiation, and one that I’m sure many other folks would not agree with. This book is not perfect in any way, though I can very clearly see that it had potential to be. I think it would’ve objectively fully earned the rating I give it if it had been split into two and adjusted to fill two individual books. The world building is there, the characters are there, it’s just the execution of the story that doesn’t stick the landing.

Grey is such a baddie, and so if you’re looking for AO3 level yearning, a fantasy that isn’t too hard to wrap your head around, and a greying 26 year old MMC, I would definitely recommend this book to you.

“‘What is love without freedom?’ he asked. ‘Is that love at all?’” (345)