Skip to the last paragraph for a summary of all of my thoughts.

I really really like this book! I love the world building and the twists and turns of the plot! It kept me on my toes throughout most of the book while still making sense and not being too predictable. With all that being said, I have a few strifes with this book. 

Firstly, I dislike how the book ends(for clarity I like what happens in the ending I just don’t like how the book is ended as far as writing style). If this book were a musical, the first book is act one and the second book is act two; and I dislike that. I dislike how barely anything is tied together and I have to wait for the second book to finish the original conflict while the conflict is actively still happening. In all fairness I did like what happened in the ending; it didn’t feel rushed at all and tbh it did leave me anticipating the hell out of the next book. I personally just don’t like that style of ending I guess lol. (A nit pick really)

Secondly, I feel as though the middle was a tad bit slow. There was so much build up to the main event and then barely anything happens in the middle. There are a couple of time jumps to demonstrate that time is passing and to jump to more “interesting parts of the conflict” however it just felt a little odd… like weeks pass and no body fights or dies? People are just hiding out? Idk, it definitely kinda works if you don’t think too hard about it though so I’m not entirely mad at it.

I definitely liked almost everything else about this book tho!!

I definitely enjoy the character development!!! Particularly Gavin and Allistar!!! How they develop over time is incredibly well done!! (I can’t go into too much without spoiling  so I’ll leave it there!)

The world building as far as magik goes is great!! (One of the last twists at the end I predicted after reading the first third of the book; however I feel like some if not most would predict it as early on) I like that the world Building isn’t done in long monologues but instead through a mix of conversation and internal dialogue that is Vidal to understanding the characters!! ( which adds on to my fondness of the character building)

All in All a great book! Kinda dark for YA but still age appropriate I’d say. Character development is spot on, the world building is done in a digestible way, and the plot is incredibly unpredictable but in a way that still makes sense( not just throwing unpredictable stuff at the reader for funzies). The ending, while greatly paced, is a tad bit abrupt. However, done in a way that many will enjoy and makes the second book greatly anticipated. Absolutely phenomenal writing!!