Maybe it's because the first book was extremely disappointing so I was expecting to hate this book so I was surprised I didn't, bit I found that I enjoyed this book far more than Powerless. Does this book suffer from some of the same annoying things Powerless did? Yes. But it was still an improvement.

Here's what I did like:

1. There was much less use of the word 'laugh' or 'laughter' or 'huffed out a laugh' in this book. Because in Powerless I'm certain it was on almost every page with Paedyn and Kai interacting. There was still way too much use of those words (we need to get Roberts a thesaurus or something) but it was used much less this time around and I'll take whatever win I can get.

2. Also I feel like the stakes felt higher and since there weren't a ton of side characters sprinkled in, we had more time with our main characters. Which was both good and bad. Because I liked Paedyn for the most part in this book. She didn't feel bad for what she did in Powerless when she killed the king, but she also had a lot of trauma from losing those she cared about.

3. The action scenes were pretty good. I think they were well written and I liked how Paedyn wasn't constantly relying on Kai to use his magic to save her (which happened a lot in the first book).

4. The fact that this book was shorter that the first book so I didn't feel like I was walking through molasses trying to read through it. 



Now onto the nitpicky and not-nitpicky things I didn't like about this book.

1. There were a lot of things that were repeated way too many times, to the point that it felt like I was being hit over the head with it. Examples being

Pae and Kai saying "Pretend" every page, or Paedyn constantly telling Kai she couldn't kill him because he would be "deadweight." or how Kitt's chapters always had the "maybe I am going mad" and "they think I'm mad" or some variation that was supposed to make us think he might be losing it even though it was so obvious that we all kind of knew he wasn't.

2. The fact that the narrative tried to make Kai's and Paedyn's actions seem similar, particularly with how they killed each other's fathers. Paedyn killing Kai's dad was literally her killing a power-hungry king who orchestrated mass genocide of a group of people who he deemed weak because they didn't have powers, and she killed him because he was trying to kill her first! Kai killing Paedyn's dad was him killing a Healer who wasn't a classist and couldn't be bought like all the other Healers, and he did so because Kai's dad, the power-hungry king, told him too. Like Kai is a victim but trying to act like those two deaths were the same just wasn't it.

I mostly say this because of the scene where Kai tells Payden "I didn't want to! I wasn't going to! He (her dad) was asleep, but then he woke up and I panicked and stabbed him and I was so disgusted with myself I threw up afterward." Like... okay? You felt guilty for killing an innocent man... as you should. He may not have had a choice, but his situation would cause different emotions (including guilt even though the guilt wasn't really his). In contrast, Paedyn killed a guy who straight-up orchestrated mass genocide... so I don't think she needs to be feeling too bad about that.

3. Kai's weird back and forth in this book. He flirted with her, true, but he also kept being like "I have a duty" as if that would make him blameless for his decisions to bring Paedyn in to presumably be imprisoned or executed. It was weird because it felt like he wanted to push Paedyn away and act like he didn't care, but then he'd flirt with her and try to get her to admit she cared for him. And normally I wouldn't mind that but the book never seems to mention how back and forth he is. 

4. This is Kai-related, but the epilogue and how Kai acted in it.

The epilogue pissed me off and made me dislike Kai because he went on and on about how much he cared for Paedyn but he doesn't seem ready to do anything about it. He's just accepting that his brother, who he doesn't think is mentally stable at the moment, wants to marry the woman he's head over heels for. And he's just like "I'll love her from afar because the beast doesn't get the beauty boohoo I'm so sad waahhh." Like stop being emo for two seconds and try to find out what's going on instead of stepping away! Like you told Paedyn you would work together and then you just take a step back when you get some shocking news? What?!

Overall I can't say this book was great or anything. I don't even know if I'll call it good, but it wasn't as bad as the first book, so that's a win. Do I care enough to continue to the third book? Meh. Not really. But I might just to see what happens.  

Okay so let me preface this by saying that even though there is a LOT that an editor could have helped with and there isn’t a single original idea in the whole series, I was still absolutely hooked. 
But really, the typos and plot holes were KILLING me. 

“WRAPPED on the door”, “I trace the GROVES in the wood”, “before I’ve even CHOCKED down air for my burning lungs”. Also, what is a “glasslike gaze”?  WHAT does “she’s already accepted a fate of her deciding” mean?? Lauren! Girl!
The other beef I had that felt like a pretty big over look is that the chain they’re linked together with is “three feet long”. Three feet is NOT very long at all, especially not when you take into account that Paedyn is 5’6” and Kai has to be somewhere around 6’. Exactly how are they climbing through windows and up ladders and rock faces and mounting horses while connected with a chain less than a body length?

SPOILERS!!! This book made me long for Pae and Kai and their relationship. Like the building of it their relationship and how they slip their facades for each other. I need to know how Calum got to be one of Kitts advisors. Also building up the whole chapter before Kitt announces she’ll be his wife I had a feeling that’s what he was gonna say. It makes me so said for Kai and so ready to see how the next book unravels. 

Absolutely flawlessly written book. Definitely counting down the days to read the third one once it’s released. Such a cutesy and also serious storyline, it’s the perfect balance between red queen, shatter me, and hunger games. 
Non plot ruining spoiler about nicknames :) :

the pure love I feel towards Kai Azer is unhealthy, personal favourite nickname he has for Paedyn is 100% ‘darling’. Perfection. He’s just naturally so caring it’s unreal

Thank you Lauren Roberts, this book will be on my mind until the next title is released 🫶

i am so shook and need the next one immediately
read the whole thing in a day

kai & pae are both so hopelessly in love that they can’t kill their fathers’ murderers

just you keep telling yourself that

p58: it would just be an innocent bystander 😂

p79: shadow. i like it 🥷

p81: aha i never thought about that! kai’s basically powerless out here, getting a taste of pae’s life. i can’t even decide whether i want it to be her trying to rob him right now or not

p82:

abigail

! they made it!

p91: hehe this will be interesting

p92: oh! we’re hearing from kitt now

p94: damn that makes total sense that his father tried to force them together, but why?

and what a killer line he comes out with

screaming anyone??

p105:

not the kiss we expected, but the kiss we needed.

and i’m peeved she still hasn’t got her dagger back yet

p109: i’m pretty proud of pae for that move actually

p127: are we getting the one bed trope?

p143: 🥺 poor babies

p148: kai is no longer a fool for her 😐

p198: is calum a double agent

p218: 🤭 time for another one bed where they definitely will have to share

p221: i would not have a good poker face if a guy said this stuff to me irl

p225: yeah you just keep telling yourself that

p235: ava. is she kitt’s mum? (you can tell i hadn’t read the family tree yet)

p310: woah woah woah WOAH

p355: yes kai is finally getting to see her scar

p365: he’s a fool for her again 🤭

p367:

kai’s letting her go

🥺

p383: kitt is 100% sentencing paedyn to death just like she feared

p385: THE F…

Lowkey felt like as many possibly romantasy tropes were being hurriedly smushed in as possible, definitely not even close in depth of characters and storyline than Powerless— but that ending…. Oh my god…..