This sequel follows Nym, Rasha, and their frenemy, Myles, as they all travel to Bron as delegates and ambassadors. Nym is pitted against the evil Draewulf again, as she tries to uncover his dastardly plans while fighting to protect her friends and her sweetheart, Eogan.

The main character, Nym, is so depressed through all this book. I don't think there's a single cheerful scene in the whole book. As in the first book, I couldn't connect with her character, although she is well-written and has great depth. There's also a trigger warning for self-harm as Nym is still cutting herself for those tattoos. Sad.

I liked Rasha's character, but she is rather static. She just reacts to whatever is going on, and doesn't have a journey of her own or any character development. She doesn't change enough through the story. I would have liked to see more of her in depth, instead of being a sidekick all the time.

The plot has all those great twists and action going on. The grim setting in Bron is well-described, the culture, the atmosphere, etc. As in the first book, the politics and war and councils and all that spy stuff didn't really entertain me. I just couldn't get interested for some reason, although it's well-written. I liked that we discover further depths of the magic abilities in this world and where they come from!

I didn't really care about any of the new supporting characters who are introduced. They are varied and distinct, and I felt like I ought to love them, but I felt little to no emotional connection with them.

I can't really put my finger on why I don't love these books. Everything appears correct and the writing is excellent, but I just don't care about the story or the characters. It doesn't draw me in. Meh.