Thank you Penguin Teen for the gifted ARC.

I WILL NOT BE THE SAME.

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This is one of those books that has altered my brain chemistry. It is one of the best books I’ve read this year. I feel like I won’t even do this review justice because of how phenomenal the entire book is.

I loved being back in this world and I loved getting to see my favorites from An Ember in the Ashes (highly recommend reading that series first!!). I loved all of the new characters. It’s a complex and diverse cast where this is not one weak point. Every single POV was engaging. I slowly devoured this because I wanted to savor it but also needed to know what was going to happen next.

And oh boy were there TWISTS. I was left staring into space multiple times while also flipping pages back and forth to make sure I had grasped what the heck just happened. Sabaa Tahir is an incredible writer and the wait for this book was worth it and more.

Also, ROMANCE. Good heavens it SENT ME. Every little lingering moment and touch and soft glance and heated exchange. It was an effortlessly created slow burn. I am obsessed.

There’s so many moments I would love to highlight that have engraved themselves on my soul. The deep, heart wrenching themes and the small pockets of joy. Handling what life has handed you with the strength to take the next step forward. This is one story that I will be thinking about for a long time.

Overall audience notes:
- NA Fantasy + Romance
- Language: low
- Romance: very vague open/fade to black
- Violence: high
- Content Warnings: loss of life and war themes, torture and kidnapping, weapons of mass destruction