Cast In Courtlight

By Michelle Sagara

In Elantra, a job well done is rewarded with a more dangerous task.

So after defeating a dark evil, Kaylin Neya goes before the Barrani High Court, where a misspoken word brings sure death. Kaylin’s never been known for her grace or manners, but the High Lord’s heir is suspiciously ill, and Kaylin’s healing magic is the only shot at saving him—if she can dodge the traps laid for her. …

“Readers will embrace this compelling, strong-willed heroine. ”—Publishers Weekly

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins UK
• Release date: Jun 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9781408936689

Michelle Sagara

New York Times bestselling author Michelle Sagara writes as both Michelle Sagara and Michelle West; she is also published as Michelle Sagara West. She lives in Toronto with her long-suffering husband and her two children, and to her regret has no dogs. She can be found @msagara on Twitter or http://msagarawest.wordpress.com

Reviews for Cast In Courtlight

[jami_leigh · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Plot: 4 1/2 stars
Characters: 5 stars
Style: 4 stars
Pace: 4 stars

Ah, political intrigue mixed with magic! I think I might save the rest of this series for January, though, as they're a bit long for cramming into this readathon.

[sunnysd_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

After tangling with a rogue dragon and getting herself marked by an outcast Barroni lord, Ground Hawk Kaylin Neya wants nothing more than to go back walking the beat and enforcing the law. Unfortunately, the Hawklord has mandated training. In magic. By an Imperial Mage. And of course, Kaylin greets the mandate with her usual cooperative attitude. And then there's the small matter of the Barroni Castelord and his heirs... As usual, Kaylin's in trouble up well past her ears. Good thing she acquires friends and supporters as readily as she acquires enemies!Catching the rhythm of the story isn't effortless, but once you're there you'll want to read more.

[bookaddictdiary · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

When I finished this book, my first thought was that it was good. Sagara gave the reader a fun ride full of twists and turns, and the characters did their part in the story. However, I just couldn't make the leap in my mind from good to great.Don't get me wrong, I read the entire book and just had fun with it (plus I'll probably read the next book), but I didn't rush out to suggest the book to friends. Cast in Courtlight is a good if you liked Cast in Shadow or high fantasy, but readers who don't enjoyed one of these things won't be converted by the novel.

[mmillet_7 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Kaylin Neya is in over her head. After defeating age-old magic bent on destruction (when is it ever not?) she is summoned to the Barrani High Court to heal the Lord of the West March, second son of the powerful Lord of the High Courts. Being summoned to the Barrani courts (especially when you're not Barrani) is never a good thing and Kaylin must remain on her toes to come out unscathed when dealing with this arrogant and treacherous race. Never far from her side is the enigmatic Severn who I for one was happy to get to know better. As Kaylin and Severn slowly unravel the mystery of why they were called to court and it's importance to Elantra at large, they discover an ancient evil that is threatening to take over. Kaylin must rely on her magic - which is only spotty at best - and her instincts which tell her the solution might be the simplest one of all.I was much more impressed by Michelle Sagara's world building in this book. I was pretty frustrated while reading the first one, 'Cast in Shadow,' becuase I didn't know what was happening most of the time. Maybe it's becuase I already had a decent background of the five races and their politics but I felt drawn into this story from the very outset. 'Cast in Courtlight' gave a truly fascinating look at the Barrani culture and history - actually, I enjoyed just learning about the race in general. And Kaylin is complicated - full of ability but hesitant to use it. She also doesn't know when to shut up - an admirable quality in any heroine in my books. I'm definitely going to go for book three now.

[jedimarri · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

"Cast in Courtlight" is book two in the Chronicles of Elantra by Michelle Sagara. I enjoyed the first book, and I found myself just as caught up in this one!Kaylin grew up on the streets of the fiefs, found her way out of that life and became a Hawk, serving the people and enforcing the law. Her life has always been rough, but she knows how to handle herself, and she can't really imagine life as anything different. Until she gets called up before the Barrani High court, and her world changes forever.Of course this isn't the first time Kaylin's world has been turned upside down, so other than the fine dresses they make her wear (and who can blame her?), she handles it amazingly well. Her healing abilities are needed by the High Lord's heir who has fallen sick under mysterious circumstances. Soon she learns that there are other circumstances that need her attention, and that there are those who desperately want to keep her and her power as far away from the High Court as possible!I really liked where Sagara took this story, the character development was well done, and there were some really interesting twists that I appreciated. The only thing that bothered me was all the intrigue, which was necessary, but a little confusing at times. I'm looking forward to the next book!

[teharhynn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another intriguing book. It's nice to see that this book focuses more on a different race of people than we saw in the first book. I'll be happy to see what she's going to do with yet another race in cast in secret. These books are a fun fantasy to read, and I definitely recommend them!

[amf0001 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Book 2 in the series, deepens our understanding of the Baranis, the formal, ageless, magic beings that inhabit this world. However, I found as the world building deepened, our heroine got more annoying. She persists in playing the young naif, but we've been with her for over 700 pages and by the end of the book she started to grate. Also, she never knows why she has all this power and neither does anyone else, she just does. I loved some of the ideas but the writing didn't always follow through. I started reading the third (and final?) but it was too back to back and I had to put it down. So B rating, good but not great.

[cbrachyrhynchos_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Disappointing, a dozen variations of heroine encounters magic artifact, heroine screams, heroine bleeds, heroine has one-sided cryptic conversation with patronizing immortal race, heroine has awkward encounter with childhood friend and love interest.

[lewispike · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is better than its predecessor, Cast in Shadow. In part that might be because I'm used to the style of writing, and in part it is because I'm more or less used to the backstory so that particular annoyance is more or less gone. This book makes more of the role of a hawk to hunt and investigate and see minute details, and is sort of a magical mystery as our heroine tries to work out the intrigues of the Barrani High Court. Lord Nightshade plays a much smaller part than in book one, and I find I hope he comes back in book 3. But Kaylin learns more about magic, more about the Barrani, something about her mark and so on and, almost inevitably, gets more powerful and bends the rules of the universe once again.But, it works, it's fun, it drew me nicely and I'm looking forward to book 3, and possibly later books too.