“It wasn't pretending I wouldn't get knocked down that protected me, but the knowledge that I would get back up as many times as I had to.”

Rating: 2.5 stars.

I have complicated feelings about this book. It was okay, and I didn't hate it, but I did find myself waiting to finish it by about halfway through. Unlike most reviewers, I found that I enjoyed the first book and liked the second a lot less, but I think most of my reservations were more about the way that aspects of the novel were executed. Spoilers ahoy

The prologue with Eijeh immediately gripped me, and tbh Eijeh was one of the most interesting aspects of the book to me, but he was barely in it and by the end of the novel, what I thought was going to turn out to be a really cool aspect of the plot was mentioned in passing for the rest of the novel. Apart from Eijeh's few chapters, the book was split between Cyra, Akos and Cisi's perspectives. As someone who found Isae unbearable, and Cisi pretty bland, I didn't really enjoy those chapters. It was nice to have the aspects of political intrigue, and for a hot second I was reminded of the later parts of the Hunger Games series, but everything was so brief and glossed over. I made a note during the beginning of this novel to add it to my queer characters shelf, because yay a lesbian character where it hasn't been a primary facet of her personality, but then the relationship was completely ignored even when it would have been relevant to mention, like during all the stuff that went on with Ast. It felt a little to me like the queer characters had been shoehorned in (Akos inexplicably mentioning Vakrez's husband near the end of the book? what.)

Cyra and Akos predictably have a huge fight about something that wasn't a problem in the last book but is suddenly a problem now, which felt a little uncharacteristic, then a few chapters later they go from completely avoiding each other to cuddling, which just felt weird and off. There wasn't really a resolution or an explanation.

The final nail in the coffin for this book for me was probably the ~big twist~ regarding Akos and Cyra's fates. I guessed about half of the twist, but I didn't guess the specifics of the twist because the specifics of the twist were completely stupid. The ridiculous switching places thing wasn't really given any depth, and it barely made sense.

I think my biggest problem with this novel is that it felt like Roth wanted to create a complex political environment, and then rushed through the complex political intrigue. Perhaps she didn't want to create another trilogy (fair, because the YA market is overflowing with them right now) but it felt like the second book should have been two books; the first handling Lazmet, then the second handling the peace accords. Instead, everything was hurried and glossed over, and things that could have potentially been explained into making sense were just abandoned as half-explained statements.

I did, sort of, enjoy this book. But I really wish it had been given more time to become a stronger story.