I just finished this, and oh my, I loved the ending to this duology so so much! It took a while to get into, but once I did, I was enthralled!!

Just as a warning, this story gets dark. It is whimsical, but it’s also gruesome. Be aware of trigger warnings for rape, slavery, child murder, and suicide. 

Just like the first book, the phenomenal writing and whimsical setting had me fully captivated, and I loved how the world building was expanded in this installment! We get a lot more information about the gods, and the chapters following their backstory were some of my favorites! It added a whole new element, and tied into the worldbuilding of Taylor’s A Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy, which I loved!

One of the things I love the most about this duology, is the fact that neither side is truly good or evil! It’s a beautiful but dark story about trauma and the cycle of violence it breeds. Everyone in this story are made to do horrible things to protect themselves and others, and the way all their actions tie together is a brilliant feat of execution!

While the romance between Sarai and Lazlo is probably my least favorite part of the series (the entire duology takes place over about a week), I loved the secondary romances a lot! Laini Taylor truly knows how to write complicated characters, and I loved follow each of them.

If you haven’t read this yet, you should RUN to pick it up! It is that good!