I feel similarly about this book as I did with the first one. I liked the messaging and the positive representation in the book. I do think it was pretty rushed and there wasn’t enough time to fully develop some of the magic systems or the world-building. I think the duology might have actually benefited from being a trilogy, with another book preceding the first one, in which we get to see the original war played out. I think then there would’ve been more time to do further world-building as well as develop the characters and their relationships more on the page.