I loved this book even without reading any of the Broken Kingdoms series, but it did make me WANT to read Broken Kingdoms. I have since started the Broken Kingdoms series and I have had a few plot points spoiled for me already by knowing who is still alive in the future and what couples get together. So if you plan to read Broken Kingdoms start with that one, but if you don't want to commit to a 9 book series you can absolutely read this duology on its own.

I cannot wait to continue reading about the songbird and the serpent. I loved learning about the magical systems and lore in this book. I was excited to accurately predict some things and I was thoroughly shocked about other things which I loved.