Wow, this was a wild ride. I had been dying to read this book since I finished The Cruel Prince and I actually feel I left more satisfied after finishing this book than last time. Taryn and Locke are still as unlikeable as ever, Jude is starting to become aware of her growing sentiments for Cardan, and Cardan is starting to express his feelings better. Jude definitely gets to shine as a badass in this book. She has to find ways to politically maneuver everything behind the scenes without anyone finding out that Cardan is really her puppet and narrowly escapes death a few times. It gets quite complicated, especially with the kingdom of the Undersea looking to wage war against Elfhame. Nicasia also has a bit more time to show how deep her feelings for Cardan really run. I like that we get Jude's perspective and don't really get to see Cardan's. It makes for a heightened sense of tension when Cardan's feelings and intentions seem a bit more obvious to the reader than to Jude. She's still in a position where she just finds it very hard to believe that Cardan may actually be concerned for her well being because he cares for her. Holly Black is definitely the queen of plot twists too. I was not expecting that ending, but I trust that there are reasons we don't know for sure as to why it happened. I'm excited to see the motivation behind some character's actions in the next installment. I also would like to know more about the the Bomb and the Roach. I want more backstory and more emotional development for them, even though we got at least a small amount of it this time. Amazing second installment. I'm ready for the next one!