"Dragon's Dusk" is the second installment in Sam Burns and W.M. Fawkes' latest, high fantasy series, and like its predecessor, it's packed with action and romance, dragons and magic, steam and found family and just the right amount of darkness and angst.
I loved book one, and I was so very excited for Kostya's story: he was a fascinating character, sweet and mysterious, and his reveal at the end of book one left me quite a bit shocked. So yes, of course I was looking forward to his story!
Unfortunately, it didn't always work for me.

I think, after book one and its absolutely bonkers (and murderous and cunning and darkly hilarious) main characters, I was expecting something similar to that. Or at least, something that had the same wickedly crazy and darkly fun vibe. So Kirian and Kostya's romance, with its sweetness and wholesomeness, threw me off a bit.
Don't get me wrong, this book is still packed with angst (quite a bit too, with all the hurt/comfort my heart could wish for; so that was definitely a positive) and conflict, betrayals and violence, but I don't know, the romance felt a bit lacking (or at least, it lacked what made Misha and Genya's romance so explosive). Plus, it featured one of my least liked tropes, The Secret and/or Hidden Identity: that one always makes me feel ridiculously stressed out and frustrated, even though the deception was unintentional on Kirian's part.

But yeah, even though I wasn't totally sold on the romance, I still enjoyed it! I loved the world-building, with its high-fantasy vibes and the political scheming and intrigues going on, and the cast of characters, both side and main, good and evil, were unforgettable: Zoya and Dasha stole the show, as usual, Misha and Genya still have my heart, and Kirian and Kostya, despite my complaints, are lovely and sweet protagonists. Dima though? Now that is a character I'd kill to know more about. I really, really, really hope book three will be about him, or I won't be held responsible for my actions. Something bad has clearly happened to him to make him so unstable and murderous, and I'm so curious to discover more.

Despite some niggles, I still wholly recommend this series if you're a fan of high fantasy, high-stakes romances, ones that are packed with magic (and dragons!), steam and action, and just the right amount of darkness and sweet, sweet angst.

TWs/CWs: violence, torture, murder.

Thank you Sam Burns and W.M. Fawkes for the ARC. I received it in exchange for an honest review.