content warnings:

Spoiler

major character death(s), on-page murder, minor gore, graphic threats of violence, physical & psychological torture, necromancy, blood magic, unintentional voyeurism, mind control/manipulation, mercy kill, queerphobia

rep:

Spoiler

Asian-coded setting & culture & cast; queer major character [Likh], MLM major character [Khalad], WLW major characters [Zoya & Shadi], M/M & F/F relationships, queer relationships

As middle books in trilogies go, this is a solid one with plenty of action that advances the major narrative arcs, delightful development of characters and relationships, and thoughtful worldbuilding. It serves as a strong bridge between the first and final books, moving from exposition to endgame, yet it also has substance in and of itself.

I absolutely loved watching the characters come into their own — most prominently Tea, but this series has a fantastically strong ensemble cast with independent motives and subplots. And the sexual/romantic tension sizzles in this book, supported by some of my favorite romantic tropes such as

Spoiler

enemies to allies to lovers, accidentally catching them shirtless, angry/frustrated love confessions

. Though at the same time, the non-romantic relationships don't suffer: Tea and Fox's bond is still a major focus, as are the friendships and alliances that only grow stronger as the stakes are raised.

Now that I'm as ready as I'll ever be to dive into the series finale, let's do this thing.

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CONVERSION: 11.8 / 15 = 4 stars

Prose: 5 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 9 / 10
Emotional Impact: 8 / 10
Development / Flow: 8 / 10
Setting: 9 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: 5 / 5
Originality / Trope Execution: 4 / 5
Rereadability: 4 / 5
Memorability: 3 / 5
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[2018 original review below]

Spoiler

The world-building and plot progression still reel me in, but perhaps a little less so than in the first book — I found myself getting stuck on awkwardly written passages throughout. And there’s a bit of a disconnect between how Dark Tea actually seems to be versus how Dark we’re supposed to think she is, ie the latter far exceeds the former. (It’s not angst, exactly, but it does feel exaggerated.) Personally I found the romantic subplot mildly unsatisfying, but at least it was relatively minor considering the genre.