3.5 stars

I didn't enjoy this like I did the first one.

It was fairly slow-paced until the last ~10 chapters. In my opinion, it also wasn't nearly as compelling. The last two nights I had plenty of time to read, but wasn't invested enough in the story to do so.

I wasn't very satisfied with the ending either. Some things went too far, others felt unrealistic, and one person seemed to go completely against their character arc. And then I turned a page, expecting another chapter, and the book was over. Like, that's it? I was just sort of left hanging, expectant?

There were things I liked, though.

» Kashmir. He's without a doubt my favorite character in this duology. Everything about him is just great. I especially love his sass. I honestly squealed when I saw that he had POV chapters in this book.

» The French mythology. The majority of this book took place on a mythical French island called Ker-Ys. It was written as a utopia with dark secrets, and I loved it. Heidi executed it and the other myths sprinkled throughout really well.

» This is a small detail, but something I loved nonetheless. Kashmir spoke French sporadically throughout the book, and none of it was italicized. It was just there like any other dialogue, and more books should follow suit.

» I didn't really like Nix's father Slate, but I admired his attempt to recover from his drug addiction. It wasn't mentioned much beyond the first few chapters, but while it was there it was admirable.

» The time travel in this book intrigues me. I really like the map concept, and that a ship is used as the travel vessel. Prior to reading the first book I hadn't read anything with either idea, so it was an interesting twist. And since the little details were explained in book one, it wasn't as overbearing/confusing this time around.

This wasn't the sequel I hoped for, and I found the ending to be kind of abrupt, but I still enjoyed the read.