“Sometimes, to regain sanity, one had to acknowledge and embrace the madness.”

Stars (Out of 10): 9/10

Overall Thoughts: I definitely enjoyed this one much more than the first book, as everything seemed to mesh together more! The writing style and plot seemed to click together more in this book, and characters that I either lost interest in in the first book or grew to dislike have redeemed themselves! All in all, this is definitely a book that makes me want to continue the series!

SPOILERS BEGIN HERE

The Good: I loved the character growth of this book, and how things are starting to seem a bit more realistic after the "everyone dies" scheme the first book had, or maybe I'm just getting used to it! I also like how we are learning more about magic and the Watchers, and I hope that trend continues in Gathering Darkness!

The Bad: I didn't like Lucia's sudden transformation at all. It seemed too sudden and out of character. I get how she could lose control and kill her bunny, but her sudden malice with the tutor made no sense at all. The evilness should be something she slowly grew into, not a sudden on and off switch. Also, some deaths still were pointless, like Mira's, and it almost seems like the author wants Cleo isolated.

The Characters: I loved the character growth of Cleo we see, and how much stronger and independent she is becoming! I also began to like the rebels more, as I found that POV kind of boring in Falling Kingdoms. I also am starting to like Magnus again after his sudden evilness at the end of book 1, and he's beginning to redeem himself in my eyes. I am also so happy that Aron is dead, and that I don't have to read his ridiculous words anymore.

The Plot: I thought I would enjoy this book less due to it's rebel based plot, but I actually loved it. It wasn't an amazing second book like ACOMAF or Catching Fire was, but it also didn't have SBS (second book syndrome). It had it's own unique plot and had lots of elements that made the book all it's own, but still built a lot for the rest of the series to use!

The World Building: I still love the world building, and loved that we got to see more into magical side of things. I wished they had gone more into detail of the other lands besides Mytica, as characters from neighboring countries seem to be showing up, but I'll just hope for that in book 3!

The Stereotypical Tropes: There might be a love triangle forming, unrequited love, hate turning to love, tyrant king

The Favorite Character: Cleo!

Buy it, Borrow it, Or Bin it: Buy it!