But is it really a gauntlet?

Phoenix Rising, Havenfall's sequel was a quick read. Still fun, though some of the encounters/decisions didn't make a lot of sense. I actually wish the pacing was slower--although the book does introduce one intriguing new major character, the characters are pretty much the same as Book 1-- because some of the conflicts are interesting and could benefit from nuance. For example, the novel opens on Maddie fishing for information from guests at a Havenfall ball and there are tantalizing details mentioned (giant eagles, Fiorden family histories) that seem to be set up but are instead mostly dropped; when a higher-stakes undercover mission comes up later, the protagonists pretty much go straight for the main suspect and find what they're looking for in one night. Taya is notably missing for most of the book but arrives in time for the climax with basically "I'll tell you about it later" (but not in this book, apparently) as the explanation for her sojourn in an entirely different, long-forbidden world. On the plus side, there are giant wolf puppies (and we could have used more time with them, too!).

My main annoyance with this book, and it is not a minor annoyance, is that there is a significant magic item that is referred to as a "gauntlet" throughout despite, although not described in huge detail, the details given suggesting it is a VAMBRACE, bracer, armguard, wristguard, or cuff rather than a gauntlet. (The item is described as a "delicate tapered cylinder of gold" that "flares at the end, shaped and sized for a wrist. It looks like finely wrought armor, opening on tiny hinges and closing with a delicate latch.") A gauntlet is not a cylinder; it is a glove. Nothing in the description suggests this item has fingers or even protects on set of knuckles. It is consistently described as being worn on the wrist; other characters check Maddie's wrist to see if she is wearing it on more than one occasion. (Also, this delicate cylinder apparently fastens just fine around a female human's wrist and a male Fierden's wrist, to name two, no problem.) Now. some Internet research does turn up some "demi-gauntlets" that don't have fingers or cover the full fingers--but they still cover at least the first set of knuckles. Wikipedia asserts that "In Western women's fashion, a gauntlet can refer to an extended cuff with little or no hand covering. Such gauntlets are sometimes worn by brides at weddings." I question this, but even so, choosing an obscure fashion usage over the more common armor usage in a fantasy with plenty of medieval weaponry gets major side-eye from me. There's one stray mention of the gauntlet extending to the palm; I don't know how that works for actually using one's hand. If this item is partly made of chain rather than plate, nothing in the description suggests it. I maintain that the phoenix flame gauntlet is a vambrace.

So, not a flawless book by any means, but the characters are still likable, and it's exciting to travel outside of Havenfall in this installment. If there are more in the series, I'll read them. I may not rush out to buy them in hardcover ... but then, sometimes you just want something fun, and the covers are quite pretty. (In this case, the back cover, showing a fuller landscape with gardens, is lovely as well and shows how the front cover is a collaboration between the illustrator and the jacket designer.)