ARC Review: Cast in Atonement by Michelle Sagara

Cast in Atonement
Author: Michelle Sagara
Series: Chronicles of Elantra (Book 19)
Publication: MIRA; Original edition (August 6, 2024)

Description: In the City of Elantra, only one holds the key to peace—or eternal darkness.

At the end of three long wars, Bellusdeo is the last of her kind, the sole surviving female Dragon in the City of Elantra. When she appears one evening on the doorstep of her former roommate, Corporal Kaylin Neya, her demeanor is dreadful—more so than what’s expected of the Dragons’ notoriously tempestuous temperament. Kaylin’s new roommate, Mrs. Erickson, is quick to see the reason for Bellusdeo’s despair—the eight ghosts of the Dragon’s dead sisters, chained to her and unseen. Pleading for release, revenge and, above all, peace.

Now Kaylin and Mrs. Erickson must embark on a perilous journey, from the hallowed halls of the Academia to the depths of forbidden magic, to confront the very essence of mortality itself. Can Kaylin help release the untapped power within Mrs. Erickson to save Bellusdeo’s sisters…or will unlocking the past plunge the realm into an unfathomable darkness forever?

My Thoughts: The nineteenth book in the Chronicles of Elantra series has a lot to do with ghosts. Mrs. Erickson has moved into Helen at Kaylin's request. She's a shaman and likely a necromancer. She's also a kind, gentle and lonely old woman who has made friends in the Hawks. And she's a woman who can see ghosts and who as a child couldn't tell ghosts from the living apart.

For many years she lived with the ghosts of four children who became ghosts when Azoria an'Berranin, an evil Barrani, separated their souls from their bodies. Azoria had big plans for Mrs. Erickson too but couldn't manage to take over her body. Azoria is dead now, but the problems she created in her quest for power continue.

Bellusdeo has a problem or two too. The only female dragon has moved out of Helen to take control of one of the sentient towers that watch out for incursions of Shadow but she is being troubled by ghosts too. She once had eight sisters, but all died in the battles against Shadow. Only they aren't gone and aren't happy. Mrs. Erickson would really like to help her but first she has to deal the Ancient who is troubling the garden of elements Evanton where Evanton is the Keeper. 

This was an engaging episode in a long-running series. It is a complex fantasy world where questions of death and reality are often at stake. Kaylin is the Chosen of this generation even though she doesn't know what that means or what she can do with the powers she isn't at all sure she wants. She almost always finds herself in situations where she is obliged to use her instincts to save the world. This episode was no exception.

While I wouldn't recommend starting the series here, fans will be engaged with this latest episode.

Favorite Quote:

"No one who lives here is normal by the standards of their race. It's my belief," Helen added, once again gentling her voice, "that no one is normal when they are at home. You are at home here. No one here will judge you. No one here will judge your power."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.