Cast in Courtlight by Michelle Sagara

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.

series reading order:
~ Cast in Shadow - my review
~ Cast in Courtlight
~ Cast in Secret
~ Cast in Fury