I liked this one a lot, but I definitely didn’t love it the way I loved the first book in this series. It still had me feeling all theses complex things, but there were just too many moments where I desperately wanted to shake some sense into everyone, Nena included.

From the start, I just kept thinking, hasn’t Nena learned anything from the past year? She knows what delays can cost her, so why not just speak to or up about Alpha sooner? I had a bad feeling about him early on, and of course, I was right. The way he kept dodging things and playing too dirty during the sims? Yeah. I definitely clocked it from start. And he wasn’t the only one; because even with Wit too, my gut just told me something was off, and I’m glad I didn’t ignore it.

Then there’s Aileen. Again. I honestly don’t know what to do with that girl. One moment she’s acting like she’s grown, and the next she’s still caught up in this fantasy world where Oliver wasn’t supposedly trash. I don’t get how you claim to love your sister and your family, but you’re still trying to defend and hold on to the same man that tried to destroy them. That, in fact, destroyed her in her girlhood. It’s not like he’s a stranger to Nena, he was her own flesh annd blood for Godsake! And the fact that she was so harsh on Nena previously, only to now be hiding her own secrets? Please, what a hypocrite! I rolled my eyes so many times at her parts.

Georgia, though, remains a highlight for me! That girl is just so smart, funny, and so so sweet. I’m surprised Nena was so easily tricked into going to see her lol. And I think her little bond with Keeg is actually really cute. It brought some innocence into all the chaos. I also really like Delphine’s speech in defense of Nena. It was one of those moments that reminded me why I actually care so much about these characters. And I also loved that Court also stepped up because I actually liked them  together way more in this book than the previous one. The chemistry from the first was still there, but it felt more grown less rushed, and way more intentional in this one.

I do wish Nena used her instincts a bit more. Like when it came to Miriam. I mean how did she not see that coming? She’d been through so much, trained for all that, and still she hesitated. It was a bit more annoying because her dad ended up getting caught in it all, and that could’ve been avoided on her part.

Overall though, I’m still rooting for her. I think Nena has got the heart. She’s not perfect, and sometimes yes I just want her to slow down and think things through, but I guess I get it cause her life doesn’t give her that luxury. There’s always another threat, another betrayal, another mission. So yeah I don’t think I loved this one the way I loved ‘Her Name is Knight’, but I respect it. And I’m still fully locked into whatever comes next. The tribe drama, the power shifts, the personal mess; it’s all still got me hooked tbh.