4/5 ⭐️s

Celeste is the badass heroine I’ve been waiting for in this series!

I really enjoyed how the relationship between Zhallaix and Celeste evolved in this book. The mutual respect between these two incredibly strong characters really took their romance to the next level for me. Spicy, yes. But their adoration for each other was so so very good too.

And, as always, I continue to be amazed at how Naomi is laying out tidbits of information about this world for us, specifically the history of the Death Adders here. I’ve been intrigued by Zhallaix since he was ready to thrown down to defend Gemma’s honor in book one, so learning more about his family was really interesting.

I’m also loving how this plot continues to evolve. There’s a lot of similarities between this series and IPB, but what I think Naomi does better is recognizing the necessity of expanding the worldbuilding to keep the story fresh. We’re slowly discovering this future human society as the story continues moving off Earth, and I think she’s really struck that balance of the good vs evil of humanity. Add to it the war with the Ketts and the constant foreshadowing of the Lurkers returning, and you’ve got a wonderfully fleshed out series that doesn’t feel in danger of going stale any time soon.

Spice: 2.75/5