Picking up after the major cliffhanger in the first book, Askia has been kidnapped by her enemy Radovan and taken to his kingdom to be his wife. The majority of this book is spent with Askia being held hostage. She must learn to work in this new environment and stall her impending death. While she is navigating this new court, Illya, her guard and person who loves her, is finding a way to get to her and rescue her. The story mostly focuses on the court experience of Askia as she gets to know the ghosts of the dead queens and find a way to escape. The story ended sort of abruptly, while there is a resolution, I wish there was an epilogue of sorts to show what happened, especially to Illya and her. It just felt a bit unfinished. If I’m being honest, this one felt a bit more dragging than the first one since it goes on for a bit about Askia’s court life and new life with Radovan. There are two point of views in this book compared to the first one, one being from Askia and the other being from Illya. I still loved Illya, but overall an okay ending that could be expanded on.

*Thanks Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*