ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

It's official: Elizabeth Lim is one of my favorite authors. This book killed me. I'm not kidding. I actually cried. ACTUAL T E A R S. For those of you who don't know me, that's an extremely rare occurrence, especially at something in a book. And yet, here I am, still sniffling as I try to gather my jumble of emotions into a coherent review that tells you how much I loved this.

This was even better than I was expecting it to be. How is that possible? I'm not really sure. But oh my gosh, this book blew me away. I felt nearly every single freaking emotion it's possible to feel while I read this. How did she do that?? How did she make me care so much for these characters and for this world?

As this is a sequel, there isn't much I can say without going into spoilers but I can say this much: this book is more than beautiful descriptions, lush landscapes, and one of my favorite book romances (it definitely has all of that though). At its heart, it's a story of what it means to be human. It is a story of growth and loss and pain and change. When I finished 'Spin the Dawn' last year, I didn't know how to feel about the ending. I could see the potential, but I was worried the author wasn't intending to take the story in the direction I hoped she would. I had nothing to worry about. She exceeded my expectations and handled this book beautifully.

I am still freaking out that I was blessed enough to receive an ARC of this book. I can already say with 100% certainty that this is one of my favorite books of the year and that I will read anything this woman writes. I'm serious.

I can't wait for everyone to read this. You guys aren't ready.