thank you to netgalley & random house publishing for a copy of this book in return for an honest review !!!!

yall. omg. i haven’t read many book series before but this is the first time ive loved the sequel more. because DAMN this ended up being scrumptious!!!

compared to the first book, the plot is more engaging, with more stakes and tension. the characters are developed a lot more, making them feel more realistic (although i’ll be real and say rayan does not fall into this category… he just feels like a placeholder if im honest). the mysteries built up in this sequel are not only more interesting, but more of a mystery, with more danger for the characters. also this book delves into the politics of not just the fae kingdom but the forever war in the elven lands, and not only was it interesting but it was engaging and not cut & dry which was great. the amount of shocking plot twists increased, and i think they were done a lot better compared to the first book. like there were certain moments i was reading and fully pulled a “😨” face. the plot with the authority was done a lot better than the first book’s overarching mystery, and although i worked out the mechanics of the mystery in this sequel just as fast, it didn’t feel as cheap. not only was it more gradually explored, but the amount of layers related to the authority plot kept me gripped even though i knew most of the facts regarding said plot.

i’m actually shocked by how much i liked this because the first book was simply ok. it was interesting but simple. but this? this has a lot more depth which was great. however, i did have a few issues, but i think these issues were generally more personal than an actual issue with the book. 

for one, the book at points felt like a rehash of book 1. i don’t want to spoil what exactly happens, but it felt like the exact same plot beats was followed with lettle here. sure they were done ‘better’ in this book but it still doesn’t negate the fact that the plots of both books was the same except with the culprit & the motive(s) being different. 

speaking of plots, i did think that there were a bit too many going on at once. to be fair, by the end most plots were either nicely wrapped up or explained enough yet still allowing room for book 3 in the series. but there was so much going on at times i couldn’t keep up. we have alder’s plot, then the authority plot, then the berro plot, then the forever war plot, then the grimoire plot, then the yeeran plot, then the fates plot…. i could go on. at times i almost couldn’t keep up so much was going on. 

also if im honest, some plot points felt a bit… contrived? a lot of times i was reading and it felt like i was more so reading a self-insert fanfic. at times the book was giving “my name is ebony darkness raven and i am the most beautiful girl at school but also i have these two hot boys i have to choose from and also im super smart and super fast and super athletic and also im the queen of vampires”. elements at times felt forced and it kept breaking my immersion.

honestly though, what critiques i have about this book are mostly personal. but sadly they are what held this book back from being a 5-star for me. however, that isn’t to say i didn’t completely adore this book. it’s rare that after i finish a book i still go back and think about it, and yet i still keep thinking back to what happened throughout this book. it’s living in my head rent free.