An amazing sequel!
It certainly did not suffer the slow second book syndrome because I was hooked from the get-go.
I think one of my favorite parts to this sequel was witnessing the consequences of the characters previous decisions and how these actions affect life going forward. 
Hassan, especially, was a character who grew on me during this book because he's trying to come back from manipulating his people and others. He was the weakest POV for me in the first book, and while he still is not my favorite to read, I liked that he gave the reader a city perspective since all the other characters were moving across the country. He kept us grounded with updates, and he learned a lot along the way about his ancestry.
Now just like in TWCAD- Beru is the standout POV for me because she is such a rarity in literature now a days. People continuously want to create characters mimicking extreme strength and power like Ephyra, but Beru is the compassionate, wholesome soul that I love to read about. She is not given a lot of POV time in this book, but each moment was a treasure to me. I adore her so much, and I'll forever gush about the sisterly love shared between Ephyra and Beru. They both may be at odds, but their love still is a standout to their personalities, which I think is a great contrast to Ilya and Anton, who also had an interesting turn of events and plot line to this sequel. Ephyra and Ilya's journey was not something I was expecting.
Moreover, Anton and Jude are the close second in my favorites list for this trilogy. They both grow and change throughout the course of this sequel, and they gave me some of the rare heartwarming moments in this otherwise dark world. I loved that Katy chose to focus on their relationship more in this sequel, and it really allowed them to become fleshed out beyond their fears from the previous book. Both are courageous and selfless. They deserve happiness!
Lastly, Ephyra's Indiana Jones moment was so... enlightening? I know Ephyra has her own agenda always, and she is the more ruthless between the sisters, but when she started to thaw a bit in this book, my heart roared with feelings. She's honestly more dainty at times than Beru because of what happens.
Overall, I enjoyed this sequel more than TWCAD, which is a wonderful sentiment! I cannot wait to see where our characters go next, and I'm still biting my nails from the last 5oish pages of this book. HOW IN THE WORLD DID SO MUCH HAPPEN?! How will the trilogy wrap up? So many questions and barely any of them answered!
P.S. There's some GREAT twists in this sequel, so if you're looking to have the rug pulled out from under you then do yourself a favor and grab this book ASAP.