This may have been a case of my expectations being way too high. The pacing was terrible, the multiple POVs weren’t very cohesive, the details felt very jumbled and rushed, and the main character from the first book was basically absent. Elm was my favorite character in the first book so I was happy to see him featured prominently in this one, but he made some curious decisions and his instant love for Ione was super cringey. I might be in a slump, given that others absolutely love this book, but it was a bit of a disappointment for me.