I’ll be honest…I reread book 1 (The Sun, The Storm, & the Shadows) before I read this sequel, so that put my review a bit behind. But, there was so much going on in this series that I REFUSED to miss a thing, so it had to take it back one time for the one time. And let me tell you guys…MIKAYLA’S GETTING OUT THE ‘BURBS WITH THIS ONE Y’ALL!! It’s not often that an author who knocks it out the park with their debut, literally outdoes THEMSELVES with their sequel and the way book 2 just does it with such ease is so crazy to me! She came back harder making the plot heavier, the spice spicier, and the banter funnier. And while these aspects could be seen and experienced in book 1, there was so much in book 2 that was also different and that’s impressive to me as a reader but I’m sure it was scary as the author to make that decision though too at the same time. And if there’s ONE thing I’m learning I love and am now requiring in my fantasy books, it’s DIVERSITY!!! I LOVE seeing characters who look like me and have cultural similarities as me! The same way we deserve to take up space in real life, we deserve to take up pages too! I love to see (read) it!