Reviewed by Alice DiNizo for Readers' Favorite

Lore: East and Eight is the sequel to Lore: A Pirate's Charm which should be read prior to taking on this selection. When he was a teenager, Thomas was a slave to sea captain, Marcos Lapuente, and in spare moments, read up on magical lore and practiced Manus Magus, using two pieces of jade which he transferred from one hand to the other. Now Thomas is a sea captain/pirate himself and in possession of a sea creature talisman that he stole from Lapuente. The sea creatures, the Oi'tan, gave him permission to keep it for five years. Five years have passed; Thomas Crowe and Molly Bishop are now a couple, his brother Harlan is long dead, killed by Thomas,and Thomas refuses to return the talisman to the Oi'tan. He and Molly are set upon and chased throughout Europe by frightening immortals known as "The Eight," but they are helped by friends like nobleman Leon Beaumonte and werewolf Jack Darcy. Will they survive, can Molly always save Thomas and will Thomas live beyond the three months he's told he has left?

Lore: East and Eight is a more complex story than it's predecessor. It is well written and well edited, but the storyline is complicated; it is filled with many more characters, and that makes it a more difficult story to read. Thomas and Molly spend more time on land than on sea, which makes for a less delightful read, for Thomas is interesting as a pirate. That "The Eight" are in pursuit would indicate a sequel to East and Eight, and hopefully, they will be clearly identified in that upcoming story. Geoffrey Mylus' comments at the end of each chapter really help make clear what's happened. The rollicking, forward moving storyline of Lore: a Pirate's Charm is a better read than East and Eight.