“Cyndere, heiress to Bel Amica, and her husband, Deuneroi, have a dream: to tame the beastmen of Cent Regus. But those same beastmen murder Deuneroi while he’s on a mission to seek out survivors from the fallen House Abascar. Cyndere finds refuge at Tilianpurth, a Bel Amican garrison and watchtower. While she is in the forest trying to say goodbye to Deuneroi, she meets Jordam, a beastman. But Jordam is different from his ferocious brothers. He knew Auralia, and her colors have fought to tame his wildness. Cyndere chooses to embrace the dream she and Deuneroi once shared and pushes aside her anger to reach out to Jordam. She sends him on a mission to warn the survivors of House Abascar of an impending Cent Regus attack. But there is more to the story than any of them think. And will King Cal-raven bother to listen to the warnings of a beastman?
I’m torn over these books. They are wonderful stories, imaginative and beautifully written, but I can’t read them fast. I’m a quick reader, and no matter how hard I try, I can’t get though a Jeffrey Overstreet book in a day or two like I can most others. I felt the same way about Overstreet’s first novel, Auralia’s Colors. Around page one hundred, I could have walked away from the book easily, but when I reached page two hundred, I couldn’t put it down. As a writer, I know that’s a dangerous way to tell a story, but it seems to work for Overstreet.
Cyndere’s Midnight gripped me much earlier than Auralia’s Colors did, but I was disappointed to meet a new host of characters from page one when I wanted to read about the characters at the end of Auralia’s Colors. Some of those characters are in Cyndere’s Midnight, but this is not their story. I am glad to discover that book three is called Cal-raven’s Ladder, for Cal-raven is one of my favorite characters in the series. Him and the ale boy.
Cyndere’s Midnight is an inspiring story that goes much deeper than a parallel story to Beauty and the Beast. To me, the beastmen, who were once regular men, represent sin. They’ve indulged in the Essence to give them strength and must go back again and again to be revitalized. But the Essence is what has turned them into beastmen. Jordam has discovered another way to survive the craving: to wean himself of the Essence altogether. And Auralia’s colors give him the strength to do that in the same way a relationship with Jesus gives us strength to overcome our own temptations. It is these deep parallels that keep me hooked into Overstreet’s tales of The Expanse.”
