wow i enjoyed this way more than the first book, i'm so glad it didn't suffer from second book syndrome. rf kuang establishes and delves deeper into the world but in particular the characters, which i have something to say about for nearly all of them.

starting with, of course, rin. i really enjoyed being in rin's head for this book, and seeing how much anger shapes her other emotions as well as her thoughts and actions. it's interesting because there are times when her anger is justified and times when they are not, but you can see how much it builds her character. i loved that despite her anger she still has that vulnerable side: she's grieving, suffering from her actions of the last book, and is still desperately craving some sense of belonging, validation and order in her life, which i think is why she so readily affiliates with vaisra. she's very much led by her emotions, and i hope in the next book she rule her emotions instead. 

next, kitay, a very different character from the start of the first book. i think he's the character that's been changed the most from this war: he's bitter and broken, but his mind is still several steps ahead than everyone else. his and rin's relationship is repaired quickly however, and i'm glad rin had someone to fall back on as well as to keep her in check.

now nezha. hmm. i did like reading more about him in this book, and we definitely get to see a calmer side to him in comparison to the hothead he was when they were at sinegard. i just wish we had more of that anger too, because it feels too abrupt of a personality change. nezha is almost a disciple to his family: he believes blindly in their greatness and is, unfortunate for some, loyal to a fault to them. i did like seeing his and rin's relationship develop more from the first book, and the way rf kuang shows they're more alike than they both think.

okay a kinda quick fire round: loved that venka had more agency in this book and that she's determined to not let others treat her different, su daji can step on me, and the fact that i was attracted to vaisra until the end is...concerning. i think the other members of the cike could've gotten more scenes; it felt like suni and baji were kind of grouped together so much that i forgot who was who, ramsa was mostly there for the humour and it felt like chaghan was the only one who had a vivid enough character, although his relationship with rin has always been complicated.

another thing that occured a lot was that the characters would get a few paragraphs worth of development in themselves and their relationship with rin before their death, like qara and the other cike, which i found made their deaths more predictable.

all in all it was a superb and thrillingly paced sequel, and i'm almost too nervous to pick up the final book.