The story picked up right away following the events of the first book, and within the first few chapters there were a lot of revelations, new curses, adventure, and more for Evangeline. Just when you thought, maybe Evangeline could catch a break to figure out what to do next, it seemed like fate or in this case Jacks had more up his sleeve, as well as others who came into play.

The previous book kind of ended on a cliffhanger so when starting this book it jumped right into what Evangeline learned, and needed to figure out her next steps moving forward. I honestly wasn’t expecting the truth of what Jacks actually did from the beginning, but it was a good twist and further reinforced for Evangeline that she couldn’t trust Jacks. With Jacks still wanting to open the Valory Arch, and using Apollo as leverage to get Evangeline to do what he wanted, it seemed like Evangeline was still caught in a web of twists and turns. Not to mention the fact that a distant relative of Apollo arrived in order to take the throne since everyone believed Apollo was dead when in reality that wasn’t necessarily the case. 

Within the first few chapters I couldn’t believe what I read especially when people from the past came crawling back into this story again. For instance, not only did we get to meet Prince Lucien (long distance relative of Apollo), but turns out it was actually LUC! a.k.a. Evangeline’s first love, AND THE ONE WHO TURNED INTO A VAMPIRE IN THE LAST BOOK! Again I wasn’t expecting Luc to reappear in the story, but it made for a very interesting twist in the book as well as added to the level of danger especially since it seemed very clear that Luc was still lacking control when it came to blood. Then there was Marisol, who I still felt suspicious about like, with everything she did in the last book, I still didn’t trust her, and bless Evangeline, but I feel like she was at times too forgiving towards Marisol. 

The thing that I loved most about reading this book was that not only were the stakes higher, but it felt like it was nonstop adventure, and a dash of danger. Especially with Apollo’s curse being a big part of the story alongside trying to find the stones to open the Valory Arch, it was fun to follow along Evangeline and Jacks. In addition, with some unexpected allies, I felt like I got to see more of other places that were only touched upon in the first book. Apollo’s curse really stood out to me because, with the curse being straight up like Evangeline’s favorite story, “The Ballad of The Archer and The Fox”, it seemed tragic that Apollo was cursed to hunt down Evangeline. Meanwhile, Evangeline tried her hardest to help Apollo, but also tried to evade his killing tactics. This story didn’t hold back on the danger and adventure thats for sure. 

The story building of the world and plot seemed easy to follow along. I liked the way Stephanie created the world in this book because she combined some fairy tale elements, but made them unique pertaining to the storyline. At times, I couldn’t help myself but zoom through the chapters because, I wanted to know what would happen next, especially with some of the chapters ending on a big note, and I was left wondering, “OMG OMG!” I was very much enjoying the ride while reading, and felt fully immersed into the world, and escaped alongside Evangeline and Jacks. 

Ironically enough, this book had me second guessing some characters on whether or not I should trust them. For instance, at first I assumed that Luc was going to be one of the villains, but surprisingly despite him still learning to control his vampire urges, it seemed like he redeemed himself by showing Evangeline that he still retained parts of his humanity and a bit of that boyish charm that Evangeline once knew. Luc was one of those characters that were a bit of comedic relief, but also somehow who wasn’t as bad as I initially thought. Then there were other characters like LaLa and Chaos who I was always back and forth on whether they were good or bad. Both characters kind of tipped the scales in that they weren’t inherently bad, they had their good and bad moments. I think it was safe to say that for Evangeline, she learned pretty quickly that no one was exactly as they said they were nor could she fully trust anyone. 

I would say that in terms of romance, it was more of a subplot, and I didn’t mind that at all. With so much going on with Evangeline and Jacks and all that they had in order to end the curse, I was more captivated by that. That being said, those moments of tension between Evangeline and Jacks were better this time around. Especially towards the middle and ending, I was shook! Jacks in particular (if you’ve read, you’ll know what I mean!) Needless to say, the romance was great in an unexpected way, but left me wanting more and more.

Overall, this book was a whirlwind adventure of twists and turns and honestly took me by surprise! I cannot get over the ending of the book and all that happened towards the end! It was so crazy and unexpected! Even from the epilogue I was like, “wait… this can’t be the ending??” I was truly left shocked and lots of OMG OMG! Trying to wrap my head around all the truth and lies that were uncovered. Definitely read the first book and once you get to this one, you’ll be in the ride of your life.