This series is so smart. Tightly plotted even as it clearly sets up a third and final installment, it saves itself from a second book slump by bringing to the foreground different characters on their own incredibly difficult journies in this world of three powers locked in stalemate and those crushed between them.

Again, low key intriguing developments, and the cast widens to the detriment of the focus of the novel overall. I'm going to try to find the final volume from the library, because I now want to see how this all comes together, but I'm not sure the author can stick the landing.

okay this one was SO much better than the first one. 4.5 stars that i’m rounding down.

it took me a little bit to get into it. like i didn’t get to the “can’t put it down” phase until about 3/5 of the way through and then i just raced through the ending. that’s not cause the beginning was necessarily slow or boring, but it just didn’t suck me in like the later parts of the book did.

the biggest change for me in this one was the world building. it was so so good. the first one was so weak in this aspect that it almost turned me off of the whole series and i’m so glad i didn’t give up yet. got to get a much better idea of not only the icarii and geans which were briefly fleshed out, but the asters who were the real star of the show.

also really intriguing themes beyond just the lack of autonomy in the first one. this one got deeper into sociological and systemic issues within human societies and how we could be better and improve. also i’m liking the little glimpses into the synthetics and hoping we fully get into that in the third one (which i’m guessing we will).

loved the four perspectives in this one vs. just two plus hiro’s voice messages in the first one. also glad the author added headings letting me know who’s pov it was before each chapter started cause it kind of threw me off that she didn’t do that for the first one haha.

hard to pick a fav pov which is a really good sign. astrid of course is super cool to follow because she’s pretty disconnected from what everyone else was going through in this one. the sisterhood was fleshed out a bunch more which was really heartbreaking but interesting to read about and i loved her relationships with eden and lily. (rip eden. that part shocked me so much my jaw literally dropped). (also lily is a homie and i cannot believe the twist ending that’s she’s secretly not only an aster but castor’s twin?!). astrid is a badass and i can’t wait until she destroys the sisterhood.

lito’s pov was probably my least favorite once again but i liked it a lot more in this one. ofiera is super cool and sorrel was a great addition. he’s giving me bad vibes but he’s super charismatic and interesting so i’m curious to see where his storyline goes. also rip lito. i can’t believe she actually killed him off, but i have hope that the synthetics can somehow bring him back in the next one haha.

hiro might be the fav. they’re just so charismatic and i love their storyline. excited to see where it goes in the next one with them trying to kill their dad. also can them and astrid PLEASE interact in the next one. so sad they didn’t see each other at all :(

luce. great addition to the story. her overall arc in this book is probably my favorite out of all of them. loved everyone else’s, but for her to go from an art school kid doing graffiti thinking it’s making a difference to sacrificing herself for the betterment of the world is amazing character development. she began making her own decisions for herself. LOVE the way she shut castor down by telling him that nothing she did was for him but was for her instead (even though i like castor he was still annoying sometimes). also LOVE the feminine rage that she projects towards the end of the book when that’s all she has to hang on to. just lovely. i’m not sure what they’ll do with her in the next one but i feel like i would be content honestly with her arc being fairly limited to this book. of course i would love for her to do much more and be another main character in the next one. we’ll see.

teared up a couple times. laughed a couple times. felt so much more connected to the stories and the characters in this one. really impressive to me how the author was able to turn it around so quick. even the writing seemed to change a bit and become more descriptive rather than relying on dialogue to explain everything.

i really really enjoyed this one and am super excited to read the finale. hope it lives up to the hype that it now has in my head haha.

So this book was even better than the first book. You really got to learn way more about the characters and the struggles that were going on with the Asters vs the Icarii. You also learn more about the Synthetics and how they tie in to everything that has been going on.
Highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good space opera with characters that really keep you engaged and interested. Loved it!

Omg Linden did it again! The plot twists! Wow! I need the next book right now!

This book didn’t *give* me trust issues but it definitely didn’t make them better. :)

The First Sister was an absolute banger for me, so I just couldn't resist jumping straight into book 2. And friends, I am happy to say that there is no second-book syndrome here, whatsoever!!
Fast-paced, action-packed, thematically rich, full of emotional gutpunches but also full of heart, this sequel was one wild ride from start to finish!

I really enjoyed the deeper development of the characters that I had come to adore in book 1, but was also pleasantly surprised by the new additional POV in here. There are definitely some moments of frustration with these characters, but only because their are so painfully flawed and human. Hiro remains my absolute favourite, because their dry wit and snarky humour is just right up my alley. Also, their character arc is tragic, and we all know I love that.

The character dynamics are also just so complex and complicated, which is exactly how I like to see it. All the diverse platonic, familial and romantic relationships are incredibly messy and they will tug on your heartstrings, for better or worse. So much emotional destruction, I eat it up!

All that said, this sequel blows open the world that we only got to see glimpses of before, and I think I might have preferred the more intimate and grounded storylines in book 1. The world building and tense political landscape is fascinating, but I did feel lost at times.
Some of the side characters weren't as well-developed as I would've liked and alliances/character motivations were not clear to me, so some betrayals and back stabbings lost some of their impact.

Still, there were plenty of other twists and turns that had me on the edge of my seat, so I ended up devouring this book.
And I continue to be very impressed by the representation and deeper thematic discussions that can be found in this series. This isn't just an incredibly engaging romp, but it's also a very multi-layered story that has serious emotional impact. The stakes are so high, so you better think twice before getting too attached to characters!

Overall, I am really enjoying this series and I have high hopes for the finale.
If you want Red Rising or Mass Effect vibes, but just with a lot more queerness sprinkled in, then you have to give this series a shot!