Color me biased because I totally latched onto The Wicked Bargain the year that it released(I got hyperfixated on it), and Dami was my favorite(though that’s not an unpopular opinion within the readerbase). But this was a solid continuation of Dami as a character and with their themes that were sort of revealed in TWB! Although, ultimately, it’s more plot-focused and doesn’t (entirely) function as a character study. I get that the trope of “snarky, slightly egotistical fan favorite character has been partially using that as a front for deeper issues” is prevalent especially in the age of Tumblr(where, arguably, this duology-ish should have been famous), but I liked Dami’s characterization within that. I thought them and their past were deconstructed well enough. (And besides, it’s not 100% a front. The little shit.)

Whatever, I’ll stop trying to find some thoughtful excuse. I loved this book, and I am thinking about it months later, and I am not embarrassed. Mostly.

I have sort of mixed feelings on nonbinary rep in recent media, even though it’s been better in books. Although we’re becoming more visible, and finally getting some badass, fleshed-out characters, I can’t deny it fits into some archetypes. Such as the shapeshifter archetype. Dami, however, doesn’t let their shifting become a gimmick: it’s intrinsically tied into their gender identity, something that takes on a bit of nuance once they realize they have to choose between living without dysphoria or being a human. Shifting isn’t some kind of performance, but a reflection of themselves. I hadn’t fully thought about that until recently, and I’m not sure if sort of subverting that trope was something done intentionally, but that was so lovely to see. (wait did the nimona movie do that too)

(And sort of on that topic…were there a couple moments where Dami’s own thoughts sort of read as an allegorical trans thing??? I don’t know. TDC is already a super trans book and doesn’t require any additional subtext, it was just me reading too much into their own anguish on not being seen outside of being a demonio, especially by Silas. The “Do you see me yet?” line fucked me up for 2 hours I won’t lie😭)

Besides Dami though, the two other main characters/POVs were memorable in their own right! But I especially loved Marisol and Dami’s friendship, they were so sweet. They just connected to each other so deeply and not just because of their shared identities, and that provided some reprieve in the parts of the novel where Silas was being a bit too shitty for me to hope to root for anything to happen in the romance. (There’s a plot reason for it though, don’t worry. Otherwise I would not have rated it so high.) Honestly Marisol was my favorite of the new characters, for the previous reason and her resourcefulness. 

Like it’s predecessor, TDC has an intimidating villain to sew in all kinds of ominous magic throughout. While Eve is literally introduced as an antagonist, there were still a couple of twists kept with her origins that I liked.

But oh god, the last thing I expected from this book was for it to make me cry…the underlying theme of what it means to live and be a person really got to me okay…

WHAT THEF UCK IS A DAYWALKER’S LIFESPAN? AT WHAT POINT DO THEY STOP AGING BC I KNOW THEY GREW UP AS A DEMON SO IT WAS POSSIBLE FOR THEM TO GO FROM A KID TO TEENAGER, DO THEY JUST…STOP PHYSICALLY AGING AT THIRTY OR SOMETHING? IS DAMI JUSF SUPPOSED TO OUTLIVE ALL THEIR HUMAN FRIENDS??!! WHAT GOOD IS THAT EVEN IF THEY GET TO HAVE SOME OF THE PERKS OF BEING HUMANLIKE SUCH AS HAVING THEIR 5 SENSES??? Juno’s one conversation with Dami confused and pissed me off when I first read it, probably because I was also going through a rollercoaster of emotions with all the effort they were going through to stay human and they still failed.

I’m saying this book “brings me comfort” in the same way Arcane does: ffucking god I got emotionally punched in the gut but hey look! Queer people! Cool magic stuff!