Oh, that ending! It broke my heart! 
It’s honestly just very cruel to have to witness two characters grow so much, work so hard on themselves, and feel so much intense love for each other, only to have it all be completely ripped away from them in the end. 
All that progress Adrian made, only for him to spiral out of control after losing her… All that progress Sydney made, only to be betrayed and hurt by those who should be closest to her… It’s so heartbreaking. 
And I can’t even imagine how sad the next book will be! I’m not sure I can stomach seeing what will happen to Sydney in that… place.

That said, I truly cannot wait to see the inevitable downfall of The Alchemists. That cult (because really, that’s what they are) is nothing but evil, and I want them all to die. 
Also, I don’t care if she’s young and brainwashed; if Zoe can let her jealousy and vindictiveness turn into something so cruel, then she deserves nothing but pain and sorrow. I desperately hope she will not be granted a redemption arc, because I will personally never forgive her.

On a more positive note, the majority of this book (outside of the ending) actually gave me really sweet and wholesome vibes. Adrian and Sydney’s relationship turned into something so pure and strong, and it was actually really nice to see. It warmed my heart that Adrian was willing to truly work on himself to be better for her. I mean, it was a really tough journey for him, and I can’t imagine how hard his Bipolar Disorder can be to manage, but he tried his best. For Sydney. His love for her means everything, and he is willing to give up his magic if it means Sydney won’t have to go through the heartbreak of seeing him lose his mind…

I’ve aso grown rather fond of the other characters. I used to dislike a lot of them and got annoyed by them almost constantly, but I actually found myself liking them quite a bit now. Eddie and Neil are both really good guys, and I truly respect them a lot, but Jill and Angeline also became so much more tolerable. Jill was actually nice this time, and no longer self-absorbed, while Angeline’s quirky antics actually became a little endearing to me or at least made me chuckle. I never thought I’d stop getting annoyed by them, but it’s happened.

All in all, I think this was a good story, but I especially liked the growth we got to see in Adrian and Sydney. They’ve both come so far from where they began. I just hope they won’t have to start all over again after what happened at the end here…