I truly feel like this book suffered from “second book syndrome” for me. Nikolai saved this book for me, his interactions with everyone made me want to continue and the political intrigue with Vasili was also a great subplot. He just wants to be a man in the skies when he has duties to uphold (I don’t know why that gets me every time.) Mal, I didn’t really enjoy him in the first book but now he’s just an asshole and I can’t stand him. Just because he and Alinia have known each other their whole lives doesn’t mean she is something or someone to stake a claim to. In all honesty I’m not a fan of the book as a whole , I wish I was but it’s just not for me.