Once again, Tracy Deonn placed me on the edge of a cliff and refused to let me go. Watching Bree work through a new level of grief and the pressures of not one, but two ancestral lines was a whirlwind. I loved getting to explore more of this world and Bree's history, though I would have liked a little more in-depth look at Root itself outside of the legendborn. We did get that towards the end though, so that was great. The betrayals that were revealed in this book didn't surprise me, but that didn't make them less enjoyable. The amount of gaslighting Bree had to endure made me want to fight. I was already a Sel apologist, but this book pushed me over the edge into Sel territory. Let's just say I'm definitely cemented in this place and I love my little crossroads child. This also cemented my thoughts that Tracy needs to stop playing and give us a throuple at the end of the cycle or just leave us alone lol. The way Bree, Sel, and Nick fit together and serve as each other's safe place just pulled at my heart strings.

The one complaint I have is that Bree's character development seemed stilted in certain ways. The issues with her powers eventually gets explained, which I appreciated, but it seemed like while everyone put immense pressure on Bree, they also handled her with kid gloves. How was that helpful? They treated her as fragile and I think in some ways that made her act both fragile and irrational. It also felt like Bree was unnecessarily naive about things like Sel's feelings, relationships with her friends, and her power in ways that didn't make sense to me. I know some of that is her age and the pressure, but sometimes it went beyond normal YA character frustration. By the end of the book there was growth, but I just feel like it didn't need to be dragged out as long as it was.