Part of me was a bit worried where the sequel would go. Divine Rivals ends with our main characters torn apart, so I knew going in that they wouldn't be together initially. The romance was a big part of why I enjoyed it so much—the world itself, the magic, and the war plot weren't impressive on their own. The sequel does elaborate a lot more on the lore of the world, but it wasn't enough to compensate for me.

There was a repetitiveness to the story. It almost felt like we were starting over, with letters exchanged between two people, one of them knowing who they're talking to, and the other not having a clue. It's not what I was hoping for, and it failed to hold my interest or capture my imagination and emotions the way Divine Rivals did. 

I also thought that the story didn't fully come together in general. The next part contains general spoilers about Roman and Iris's relationship, and some plot points related to the army.

While Roman and Iris do encounter each other a handful of times, it is never for very long, and they spend most of the book apart. I knew that this would be the case at the beginning, but I was hoping that they'd end up together about halfway through the book, and continue fighting as partners. Instead, even at the points of high tension/conflict, they each have to deal with their own problems. I missed getting to see them work together, and I missed more interactions between them.

One other thing that struck me is that the army ends up pretty useless, which is strange considering how much is made of them until about 50% through. The army is the only thing standing between Dacre and Oath, except when they get to Oath, they're forced to stay outside, and have no further role in defeating Dacre until it's over and done with. I found this an odd choice, but it does track with my feelings about Divine Rivals. The magic, the lore, and the war are all secondary to the romance in this duology, so when the romance is also lacking, there's not much else to hold onto.

I would still recommend this series, however. Rebecca Ross's writing truly is beautiful, and my feelings about Divine Rivals haven't changed.