Book Review: The Amethyst Panda

The Amethyst Panda is the sequel to The Carnelian Fox, which I reviewed last year. I had ended the review stating I hadn’t heard anything about book two and it was a huge surprise when this one dropped. I love how both books look side by side and that Rica, the psychic/electric red panda, is on the cover this time. There will be some small spoilers, but they mostly deal with what occurred in the previous book.

Sam starts off dealing with the fallout from The Carnelian Fox, trying to pick up the pieces from what happened at Mag-Core. After trying to get back into being a Prime, she realizes she’s not ready for it after losing Charlotte, which also leads to guilt as it was Callum’s gem. Mrs. Capshaw still has a tail on Sam from the events along with trying to keep her safe from Alfie’s Saviors, who Sam has a few run ins. While it felt like there were less gem battles this time around, the gems were used efficiently in some of the obstacles Sam faces and there’s plenty of unique, epic gems to see. There’s also rumors of ancient gems, stronger than elders and kept hidden because of their power.

I love the new characters Theo, Jess, and Rhian. Watching Sam realize she can let new people in and have friends again was so heartwarming and I wanted to give her a hug at several points in the story. With the help of old friends, and the new ones, she searches for closure. Honestly, I was worried how the topic of grief would be approached, but I was blown away by how well it was handled. The advice Sam gets is well written and made me a little teary-eyed. And when Sam does reach some closure at the end, it feels well earned and realistic. Additionally, Sam helps an old friend to search for closure after upsetting news. It’s nice to see the growth Sam has, not only from the last book, but just from the beginning of The Amethyst Panda to the end.

One thing I felt lacking from Pokemon, was showing the downside to having powerful, elemental creatures at your command. The Carnelian Fox touched on this with how some towns were completely changed to protect from wild gems and how dangerous gems could be, but this aspect was explored more in book two. As much as I’d love one of these creatures, I know they could easily kill someone, which is the main message of the antagonists, Alfie’s Saviors as their threat increases. The friction between Sam and Alfie’s Saviors has me excited for what’s to come in this series, along with more world building on gems.

I give The Amethyst Panda 4.5/5 ancient ones. A solid sequel that left an exciting hook for the next installment, I recommend this, and it’s prequel, if you enjoy monster catching series or fantasy in general.

Get the book here.

And as always, happy writing!