I've been waiting over a year for this sequel and it was so worth the wait! We're back with Teo, Niya, Aurelio, and Xio and gifted the most wonderful scenes with these characters. We're also gifted dual 3-rd person POV (my favorite!): Teo and Xio, so we don't have to miss anything. Ultimately, we get to watch Teo and Aurelio come together as boyfriends (so worth the wait!), Aurelio find his place with their group, Xio come to terms with who he (they!) are, and the rest of the semidioses all come together to take on the Obsidians, banish them, and restore Sol. The mission leaves them all with thought-provoking questions and ends with a whole new world rising from the ashes.




Knowing what I know now about this book, would I still read it if I went back in time?
Yes! Absolutely!


 See below for the four criteria I use to decide whether and when to read a book



CHARACTERS: Niya is perhaps my favorite female character ever written, I started out wanting to keep Aurelio in my pocket and now I want him in my pocket with a little baking set, Teo is so impressively brilliant and mature in how he handles everything, and Xio, justice for Xio. I love Xio! Each of the four main characters are so wonderfully complex, struggling to heal and grow through issues that plagued them from the beginning. And I adored being able to see the other semi-dioses in captivity. I'll admit, my favorite was Dezi. There was a curious and silent undercurrent with Dezi, especially in Xio's plotline, that was truly fascinating to read. We learn more about Mala Suerte and what happened in the past. I adored seeing this found family truly come together and fight the fight.



PLOT: As set up at the end of book one, Teo, Niya, and Aurelio set off to rescue the rest of the semidioses that were captured by the Obsidians. In what you could describe as a fantasy road-trip, they traverse all these different lands and meet people who offer novel interpretations to ways of the life and culture that have the readers as well as the three mains thinking hard. Teo, Niya, and Aurelio (and Xio) all have their moments to shine and keep the others safe, which I always absolutely adore. Aiden Thomas writes in such a way that we don't have to miss anything. And some of the lines were pure gold (pun not intended). Medium-paced (slightly slower to me than Sunbearer Trials) the plot is a perfect blend of action, adventure, and character-study. I appreciated being able to spend time with these characters and a world I love so much without racing through the plot.




EMOTIONAL INTENSITY: There is no good/bad here. Sometimes I just want a low-investment entertainment read whereas other times a high-stakes 'I need a therapist to recover' is what I need.

4:5/high. Fully immersive in a way that has me hooked, but without needing to see a therapist afterwards because the book is therapy itself!



CATHARTIC FULFILLMENT: Is the emotional journey worth it? Do I finish this book feeling that I've crested the wave of the climactic moment and everything has been settled, leaving me settled and fulfilled? 

95%. If I had ooooone thing I wished for, it was that the climactic event A) took a little longer to achieve and B) felt like the stakes and aftermath were high enough. But I adore this series and I finished this book with a happy, content grin on my face. I have a feeling this book will be just as amazing the next time I read it as this first time.