2025 reread: Upon rereading, I have a lot more empathy for Zélie in the beginning; sis was really carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders and is tired - I get it. Zélie behaves like a caged animal, which makes sense. She's been caged and beaten by the monarchy and those in power because of who she is and what she stands for, and she takes any hint of a threat as life-threatening, which makes her overreact and act out. I hope Inan & Amari get to heal from the abuse Saran and Nehanda put them through. I also wish we'd seen more of Ojore's bond with Inan...he seemed a bit empty and full of potential. Also, I like/trust Roën a whole lot more upon reread. Tzain and Zélie are Amari's chosen family, and I love that we get to see the three of them in a new light. Also...really hoping we don't have a slavery aspect about to be introduced in book 3. A lil worried about this ending again.

2020 read: This was a pretty solid second installment of the Legacy of Orïsha, and I'm very excited to see what comes next in the last book. Amari still remains my favorite character; she has even more character growth and development in this book than the first one, and she's steady in her resolve and convictions. Zélie got on my nerves for the majority of this book, and I find that she's very wishy-washy at times and kind of erratic. Which I mean, I guess that's a change from the beginning of the first book but also...she kind of needs to grow up, which she eventually does later on in Children of Virtue and Vengeance. I truly do wish we got more of Tzain, however. His love arc with Amari is golden, but I still wish we got more of him; he truly is a gem of a character.