I suppose it could have been a good idea for me to at least skim the first book before I delved into the sequel. Unfortunately, I didn't—I thought my memory was going to serve me well enough, but apparently it had enough gaps in it to keep me wondering if I was supposed to barely recognize the characters on occasion because of the time skip and the new situation, or not. Because of that, I suspect I didn't get immersed well enough, and that's absolutely not the book's fault, but it did impact my perception of it somewhat.

Overall, in spite of my memory troubles, I enjoyed it. I did feel kind of let down that what felt like a HEA in book one proved to be a HFN at best, but the flashbacks in this book explained the situation well enough. Emily Tesh's writing is as lush and poetic here as it was in Silver in the Wood. The descriptions of every little corner of the setting are amazing, and they really pulled me in. Despite Silver's shortcomings, I couldn't help but feel for him. The central plot was quite interesting, from the vampire hunt to the fairy storyline. There were nice moments of dry humor throughout.

I did feel, though, that the reconciliation/second chance romance in here was kind of… a little too subtle. Some parts of this plotline felt almost abrupt because it felt like the development between some of the major beats happened largely behind the scenes. And I do want to believe Silver and Tobias are going to get it right the second time around, but I'm not entirely convinced. Whether it's my own current state of mind and my possibly misremembering parts of the first book, I can't tell. I'll err on the side of believing in the author and give the book a 4. Huge parts of it were immensely enjoyable, after all. And the prose. Did I mention the prose? It alone deserves all the stars.