I adored the first book in this duology, Six Crimson Cranes, but the sequel fell short of my expectations. These two books, although they share one interconnected plot, felt like two entirely different stories written by two different authors. The disconnect was uncomfortable and pushing through it to finish this book was painful.

Unfortunately, the love triangle that was barely present in the first book was needlessly expanded upon in this volume. The story would have conveyed the same feeling had the love triangle not been present and the characters been simply friends instead. It was entirely unnecessary and did absolutely nothing to forward the plot.

The entire first third of the book felt like a completely different story from the rest of the duology. The events were not very well explained and left me with more questions than answers. It felt half-baked, as if the author was forcing two stories together without rhyme or reason.

My expectations were high and I feel that I was let down. This was a truly underwhelming sequel to an incredible book. I wish that Six Crimson Cranes had ended without a cliffhanger and stood alone as its own book.