Rating: 3.5 stars

Format: Ebook, Audiobook

Genre: Fantasy

Though I’m rating this book the same as the first, I did enjoy this one more. I think it’s because everything had been established and there was lots of action and fun character moments from the get-go. I loved Julian/Leo/Wren as a trio working together and the addition of Hawke and Inara as part of their allies was so interesting. I appreciated that Wren, Julien, and Leo each had clear fears and motivations and the ways they grew and changed over the course of the book. Getting to see Wren grow in her magic and learning more about the ghost smiths through that was great. Wren grew on me overall, as well. She matured quite a bit and many of the qualities that I found annoying in her from the first book were mostly absent from this one.

I think the overarching antagonists and main conflict of the story got a bit convoluted towards the end, but I was still invested in what would happen. Ravenna was the only real threat to me because she had a coldness about her that made her pretty scary. I also think her motivations were the most interesting and well-explained. I didn’t think Vance or the Regent were very compelling villains. I didn’t love how Julian and Leo were absent from some key moments during the climax of the book. It felt like all the really solid work of bonding them ended up being a bit wasted. I wanted to see them working together to take down the Big Bads. 

Even though I had issues with both books, I think overall this duology is a fun time with unique magic, lovable characters, and solid action and tension. Definitely worth reading if you enjoy YA fantasy.

I mentioned this in my review for Bonesmith, but the audiobook narrator is phenomenal. She had incredible and distinct voices for each character and it enhanced the book so much. I would HIGHLY recommend giving the audiobook a try.