In basic terms, all the action, suspense and intrigue that I found lacking from part one arrives very quickly in part two, and doesn't let up for the entire instalment! This was a far more engaging listen, and I now feel far more invested in the story and characters.

The biggest improvement by far can be found in Poppy's character development. I found her quite two dimensional in part one, but she very quickly takes on a life of her own here, actually taking action rather than just feeling things but saying nothing. She's still a far from perfect character; her sheltered upbringing can only stretch so far as an excuse for her naivety, her mood swings from loathing to lust and back again gave me whiplash in places, and the extreme shift from almost blind trust to determined distrust of everything, while perfectly logical for the character, is so frustrating for the reader - we've been here before many, many times and, unless it's executed perfectly, it just comes across as another tick on the romantasy checklist and a delaying tactic to make us wait for the meat of the story. But, despite all that, she definitely feels more rounded and it was certainly easier to sympathise with her this go round. 

As for Hawk, well, he's going on the book boyfriend list! A quip for every occasion, the delicious eroding of his restraint and that dark edge that starts to come out to play? Yu uu um! I still feel that his character is far more well crafted than Poppy overall; while it also draws on a lot of the standard romantasy character traits, the character is somehow far more 'inhabited' on the page. And his development arc is so, so enjoyable! Plus the voice actor gives a stellar performance which makes it impossible for you now to fall for the character.

The plot twist and ending was 'spoiled' for me, but at the same time I'd basically already figured out where this was heading from about 1/3 of the way through part one! It doesn't bother me in the slightest though that is is predictable; it allowed me to enjoy the ride to see how the author would get us there! The copious amount of fan art also acts as a spoiler by omission, but at least I can now enjoy it properly!

There are some quite dark moments in this book, but they serve the atmosphere really well, and give depth to the fact that this world is not all it seems. Some of the imagery made me recoil in the best way! It's graphic, but not so graphic as to be off putting, and a couple of moments makes your heart flutter at the slightly twisted way of evidencing affection... 

There are some clunky moments of transition and plot points just dropped in out of nowhere (the ending being an absolute prime example), but again I'm just trusting the romantasy template to see me safely through. It is a shame that, in places, it does feel like there is a lack of worldbuilding simply because it's a book from this genre - it feels like the author is banking on the fact that the readers will have an instinctive understanding of certain things and so certain elements are left for you to fill in the blanks. Likewise, there are a few examples of info-dumping which, while well placed enough to fit within the story, detracts from Poppy's character. She is essentially told everything, rather than figuring out or discovering things for herself, which again makes her feel a little bit of a passenger in her own story.

I'm certain intrigued enough to continue the series, but is it going to become a new favourite? I guess book two will hold the answer to that!