Idk, I might be having book burnout from reading so many in a row? But I took a break in the middle of this one to binge-watch MacGyver, which didn't actually help because it made me realize just how Not Invested I was in these characters and their missions. I'm not sure exactly what it was, but it was a bit of a struggle to get through to the end — I definitely won't be continuing with this series.

Not every "evil" character has to have regrets/be secretly at least part good; that stretched disbelief as much as anything. But I will say that Helene's journey was interesting from a literary standpoint, not where I expected her to end up based on the precedents being set throughout the book, but reasonable given the circumstances.

(EDIT: A large part of why I even picked this one up was because I remembered really liking the first one; a second look at my Goodreads shelf suggests that I actually got it mixed up with Rebel of the Sands. So disappointment probably plays a role here.)