I am quite angry at this book, although I know it might be a little irrational. There was too much focus on Lila Bard in this installment, and I have zero patience for a character that constantly declares, "I am not like other girls." Not to mention that she somehow mastered magic in just four months to fight on the same level as Kell who polished his skill his whole life. Moreover, the plot around the magical tournament was boring and landed far away from the intriguing premise of the first book. It felt like a very generic YA book that I would have preferred to read when I was fourteen. I found it super boring, and I didn't care about any of the tournament participants. It didn't help that half of the book was spent setting up this tournament.

The only parts that caught my interest were those that revolved around Kell's struggles with his "family." I also felt sorry for Rhy and his struggles, but I think they were exaggerated. Holland's story was heartbreaking, and I can't believe he's going through the similar abuse he suffered in the first book.

I am also annoyed that we spent most of the time in Red London for some reason, even though there's so much more to explore.

And the ending... As I mentioned earlier, I didn't care about the tournament at all. So it's frustrating that the only plot point that grabbed my attention was just a tool to create a cliffhanger and set up the next book. In the end, this book felt like a useless transition. I'm only interested in reading the next book to find out what happens to Kell and whether Holland will finally be free. Or maybe I'm just a completionist. Either way, my expectations are quite low at this point.