Jorit, branded as a thief, and Ania a fugitive librarian, flop through time dragged by an sapient opal jeweled clock fleeing the Pressmen. Even for a time travel narrative it's confusing and opaque. Not a bad read, but don't expect clarity in your gems. ( )

At first, I was surprised to find this book wasn’t a direct sequel to Jewel; I was hoping to know more about what happened after Lin and Sima’s stories. Well, I got what I wanted, just in a different way than expected. While this book takes place decades (centuries?) in the future – at a time where Jewels and Lapidaries seem like a myth – there is definitely a connection to the first book.

There are a lot more action, character development, and world-building in the second book and I’m here for it. Initially, it seems like there’s little to do with the time where gems could sing and there were those who could wield their power. We get a look into an all-too-possible future where a group, known as the Pressmen, seek to control knowledge by destroying all books and replacing them with their own Compendium.

This isn’t an uncommon theme in dystopias and it’s one that always sparks something within me. This is probably because I have quite a sizable hoard of books and I would certainly fight to keep them, and keep books of all kinds accessible to everyone! Reading about this sort of thing definitely instills me with rage and panic.

In this particular work, the Pressmen are collecting books to feed to their massive printing press which runs on the ink of words which have already been printed. The group plays on the fear of the public – they’ll recruit anyone they can and eliminate those who stand in their way. They offer a message of false equality; they seek to create a Compendium which will be free and accessible to all, to create a world where Knowledge is not kept behind the walls of schools, barring those who can’t afford it. On the surface, this is appealing to many, especially those who can’t afford higher education. However, the Compendium created by the Pressmen is one that can be changed and altered; it’s a book where one group controls the contents and can alter and delete as they see fit. Spooky!

Ania and Jorit find themselves reluctantly working together to fight the Pressmen and save what few books they can from the jaws of obliteration. By hiding in the clock, they discover a gem that transports them back in time. This is where the story connects back to Jewel and also gives an overview of how the Pressman gained traction and power. We get a better understanding of the powers of the gems and how they’re not as extinct as the population believes.

I like both of the characters and I enjoy that, so far, each book has a duo of ladies as the main characters. In both cases, I was getting some low-key romantic vibes too. Considering this book is much longer, we get a better look at the lives of Ania and Jorit and I think more of their personalities come through along the course of the story.

We also get some perspective from a former student turned Pressmen. His chapters give a lot of insight into the inner workings of the group and he has his own dealings with magical gems too. I liked the mix of character perspectives as well as the glimpses into different time periods of this universe. ( )