Thank you to NetGalley and McMillan Children's Publishing Group for supplying me with an egalley of this book to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I really enjoyed the first book in this series, Stars and Smoke. And I love Marie Lu's writing. So I can say I was happy to get a copy of this book as the follow to the first, since the first leaves off on a small cliffhanger leaving you wanting more.
It's been a year since Syd and Winter parted, neither thinking they would ever be back in each other's lives. But Panacea needs Winter for another mission, and they need Syd to convince him to get on board. Of course their mission doesn't go as planned,. They find themselves being hunted by the very people who are supposed to protect them. And they find themselves fighting their attraction, once again!
Is it a silly notion that people so young would be working for a covert agency like Panacea? Yes. Do I care? No. Because I love these characters and their mission and the way they easily get out of things over and over again. It makes my Mission Impossible loving heart very happy,
Marie Lu truly knows how to write some great action. Every chapter had me wanting to turn the page to the next to see just where this mission lead these characters and how they would keep themselves safe. The pacing was great but I would have appreciated a bit of a slower pace to have some time with the characters. I do understand it would have been hard to do so with how much action happens throughout the story. But Lu's writing is addictive.
With this book, we get a bit deeper into the relationship between Winter and Syd. Their push and pull is undeniable. Their romance impossible. Syd continuously denies her attraction to Winter but Winter knows it's there and he is unabashedly honest about it. The inclusion of a few side characters who have history with these two definitely leant to the intensity of the build between Syd and Winter. I really enjoyed the background we got on Winter's character. His family dynamic is important to the man he's become. We know much about Syd from the first book, which explains how she has developed as a character with not letting anyone get close to her. So it's not surprising when she puts her walls up in regards to her and Winter's relationship. The romance was tense and angsty, perfect for YA readers.
As with book one, we see a lot of political intrigue in this one. Their mission is straight forward, to rescue another Panacea operative. But, of course, nothing goes to plan when an assassination attempt pulls them into a high stakes game where they are running for their lives. And the mission gets impossibly harder when they find out betrayal has become part of it all.
I do see how Lu incorporated another of her series into this one, Warcross. I had no idea that would happen. I have not read that series and had no idea there would be a connection so I'm not sure anything was spoiled by me reading this first.
The ending, while satisfying, still leaves me wanting a third book. I need to see a final ending for these two. Don't get me wrong, there is a conclusion, but I was a little unsatisfied with it. I need redemption! And maybe this might be the plan? I have no idea but if it is I'm sure I will devour that one as I did with this and the first book.
4 stars