~ Spoilers for Shadows of Self ~

The Bands of Mourning is the third novel of the Mistborn: Era Two series, first published in 2016. After unknowingly killed Lessie, his late wife-turned-Kandra, Waxillium Ladrian has been holding a contempt against Harmony who lets him hunt down the person whom he loves the most. Meanwhile, a new adventure awaits as a new Kandra appears before Wax and his companions, asking for help in recovering the spike of a Kandra that was investigating a mysterious Allomancy and Feruchemy method that dates back to the age of the Lord Ruler. Wax hesitates at first, not wanting to be deceived by Harmony once again, but decides to accept the quest as he discovered that his long lost sister is involved in the middle of it.

This is unexpectedly better than what I anticipated. I thought that after the glorious event that is The Hero of Ages, nothing could possibly get me interested anymore. But I was proven wrong as this new adventure opens up a whole new world of possibilities for future stories. The author managed to use the characters from the first trilogy in a moderate and respectful way to build up the lore for this second series and even set up more secrets in the process.

The adventure itself is fun. I thought that the setting, New Seran -- a beautiful city of terraces and waterfalls -- would be the primary attraction of the book, but it is actually the characters once again that makes up the good parts of the story. To my surprise, my favorite character of this book is not one of the three main protagonists, but Steris, Wax's fiance. She's just charming, funny, and amazing in her own way. The always-surprising Wayne takes the second place this time.

This book is the best one yet in this second series. I can't wait to see the last one next. I hope it's even better!