3.5 stars

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own!

SOLID CONCLUSION.

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This was a good conclusion, not great, but good.

I loved being back in this world and was stoked that I got to see more of it! There were a lot of travelling aspects to KOSAS, allowing for a much bigger map view. I would even love spin-offs in other areas because I wanted to spend time all over this land.

What didn’t fit in line was the romance (or lake thereof?). It was a pretty big piece in the first book, and this one made it feel stilted and stuffed in. Nor struggled the entire time with her feelings and frankly, I felt bad for Talin. More communication would have really enlightened everything. Or honestly, I was way more into a ship with a different character.

The ending felt a bit trivial with how the villain story-line went down. I thought it was anti-climatic to everything they had done in the first book. It could have used something else to add to it.

I liked that Nor was more vulnerable and open once she saw the world around her. Her strength helped her make some tough choices, but her love for her family (especially her sister) was always clear. Nor had a lot of personality and learned to love herself, flaws and all. The ending did wrap everything up, I didn’t feel like their were loose ends. It ended the way the book was definitely leading up towards, which some might love and others not.

The writing was still beautiful and made for a quick read. I’m excited to see what other stories Rutherford will write.

Overall audience notes:
- Young adult fantasy
- Language: none
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: battle scenes, murder, physical; not intensely gory/bloody