Well things pick up in this one! My goodness – everything was sort of breakneck speed here, after Katy’s capture by Daedalus at the end of the last book. First, I really loved the split POV that we get here. It started, I’m sure, because Daemon and Katy were separated for about the first third of the book. But even after they were back together, I was really glad to see it continue. I really enjoyed seeing parts of the story through Daemon’s eyes, getting to know some of his inner thoughts, etc. It was particularly fun to read the more romantic scenes from both sides this time around. Relatedly, this book had quite a bit more romance than the previous ones. I actually saw a couple reviews that got annoyed with all the mushy, but I went into these books looking for that, so I can’t lie, I ate it up. Mmmmm. Their progression was cheesy and perfect. And I love that since their relationship began it has stayed solid and reliable. I know I’ve mentioned this before, but the hot/cold plot device is one of my least favorites, so the consistency of the heat here is something I really enjoyed reading. Plus, there is enough plot going on outside of their relationship to make that extra drama totally unnecessary.

Speaking of which, wow. We learn SO much about Daedalus and their experiments and what Dawson/Beth went through and the history of the Luxen and more in this book. It was graphic and hard to read at times (yikes things got violent/bloody a couple times), but it kept me on the edge of my seat. I liked getting to know more about Luc’s background (or well, a little more…I’m sure there’s a lot more coming) and our new character, Archer, is intriguing as well. As far as other characters, I was happy with where Blake’s story went (I cannot stand him), and Dawson/Beth are adorable and their bomb drop at the end of the book is pretty huge! The one big betrayal of the book is definitely not something I saw coming and holy crap it happened so fast I had to read it again to make sure it had actually happened. There are some deaths that hurt (and others that don’t as much).

The one thing I was iffy about was a certain plot device/ Daedalus plan that is one of my least fav plot tropes – the origins themselves. It’s just…(small spoiler here) the idea of procreation, creating life, is, I get, such as easy “bigger/better end game” to write towards and is used a lot, but I just feel like...I’m not sure, but it’s just not my favorite. Regardless, I was sucked into this 4th book from page one and now I am dying to get started on the last one to see how everything wraps up now. There are so many players, so many secrets, and now with the influx of Luxen, Dawson/Beth’s situation, and whatever Daedalus has planned, things are likely to get even crazier and I can’t imagine how the author will manage it.