Did I have problems with this book? Yes. Did I love this as much as the first? No. Will I treasure it as much as the first? Yes I will. 
I struggled mostly through the first half of this book. While I adored being back in this world and seeing more of the relationship between our two main characters it was riddled with the miscommunication trope and pages of self deprecation that were slowly getting on my nerves. While it wasn't necessarily intentional I did end up taking a long break from this but when I came back I was enjoying myself a lot more. 

I just adore Vel and Cae too damn much to not have loved this book. The beauty in their queer relationship and just how desperately they love each other brought so much emotion in me. Along with just how moving it is to have a book set in a world that's so queer normative. The themes and messages of love, being in a queer relationship, and processing this world after you 'come out' was so special to me.

The story structure felt very similar to book one. A lot of similar things happen and again it's a very political heavy book but I found I was intrigued by a lot it. It's a long book but it never feels like it drags on terribly long? It's fast paced and keeps you hooked the whole time. While I didn't particularly care for how to plot was resolved and what ended up being the big plot twist/reveal, again I was just mainly here for the characters and the relationships between everyone and I'm not ashamed of it. 

Also Asrien was an unexpected love in this. I went from liking him, to hating him, to loving him in the span of this book. I think he's such an intriguing character.