It is so not okay that I have to wait like two months for the next volume. Yukio has gone off the rails and Rin is in the process of dealing with his newly unleashed powers. Shima is still on a tentative scale of good and evil. The plot is at a crossroads where the line between what is moral and what isn't is not very clear. I can see the main characters having to make really important decisions about where they stand in this war between the Illuminati and the Knights of the True Cross. Both organizations are corrupted in one way or another and I don't see any of them truly fitting snuggly into either side. I think that Yukio seeking power as aggressively as he is is just a reflection of his own insecurities when compared to Rin. I think that the rivalry he feels with Rin is going to be an overarching plot for the rest of the manga and I'm looking forward to it. It will make for a more interesting and heartbreaking story that brings a very human element to their sibling relationship. I really can't wait until the next volume!

I haven’t read a YA dystopian like this in a while and I’m glad this is the one I picked up. The world Marie Lu has created transports you in pretty easily without needing an extensive amount of explanations. Anything that needs to be known is implied and it feels like the author understands that she doesn’t need to tell the reader everything. I like Day’s relationship with his family a lot and it was nice to see June’s thoughts and questions as she struggled with the morality of the Republic’s actions. It made both of them much more relatable as people. June and Day both believe they are on the right side of the war for valid reasons which is what makes it that much harder for them to have complete disdain for each other. I think the pacing for their romantic relationship could have been better, but on the other hand I think they both are still in the initial infatuation stage of the relationship. June’s attempt to save him would have happened regardless of her feelings for him, I think, because she realized that having him executed was morally wrong. Usually with relationships that develop too quickly my main issue is that the two characters involved are declaring their undying love for each other and are willing to risk their lives for a person they barely know. In this case, the actions taken were circumstantial more than anything else and I’m sure their relationship will be further developed as the books go on.  

Now, speaking of the Republic, the government is gross. They’re completely willing to commit genocide against their own people as long as they are allowed to stay in power. The worst part is that a lot of the people that are fully aware of what is going on and are following orders are like Thomas. People who truly believe that what they are doing is for the greater good and therefore justified despite the immoral implications. I really like Thomas as a character because he embodies my favorite kind of antagonist. He is the kind of person that fuels corrupt governments like those shown in this world. It really is terrifying to see, yet so realistic. I’m glad June was able to make her own moral decisions about what was happening and realize what a monster Thomas truly is. It is amazing that he was able to murder his friend and still have the audacity to pursue a romantic relationship with his sister. I don’t think I’d be able to look at someone I did that too in the eye. I’m looking forward to see how he reacts in the long term to June and Day’s escape. Something tells me we haven’t seen all the war criminal crazy that Thomas can be. Overall, I’m glad I finally picked this up and that my over indulgence in YA dystopian a few years ago didn’t continue to stop me from reading something like this. I’ll be picking up the sequel soon.  

It took me a bit to get past the 100 pages to really get into this book, but thankfully it was worth it. The book did a really good job of conveying how brutal the society in the Empire is. There isn’t any explicit rape or sexual assault, however, it is implied that this is something that is common place, especially for slaves. It felt very much like a fantasy Roman Empire. There wasn’t much of an exploration of the fantasy aspect of the world. I’m hoping that we will get more details about it in the sequel.   
 
As far as our lead characters, Laia is the female lead, and she goes through A LOT within the first few pages of the book.  Her family is killed and her brother imprisoned or kidnapped. It was hard not to be on edge anytime Laia was interacting with anyone thereafter. The whole plot it is hard to tell who is trustworthy and who is not besides Elias and Laia. I never truly trusted Mazen, and boy, was I right. Helene was one of the more complicated characters as she obviously has strong romantic feelings for Elias, but she seemed so vehemently loyal to the Empire the whole book that it was difficult to pinpoint exactly where her moral lines were. This was also made more difficult by her clear prejudice against slaves. Helene believes that slaves have earned their position as lower class because they were unable to fight off the Empire essentially. Part of me was hoping that her negative attitude toward Laia was due to just jealousy, but there is definitely discrimination for the entire class of slaves mixed in.  Besides that, her character development seems to rely heavily on Elias. That is also partly because the story is told from Laia and Elias’ perspective, I think. It would be interesting to see things told from her point of view in future books. In addition to all this, I would like to know more about her powers, which is where the fantasy aspect of this world kicks in. I think it would also help flesh out her motivations better as her actions at the end of the book have made things very complicated. Marcus harassed her in most of the interactions they had in this book, so it’s going to be anything but comfortable for her to serve him in his new position as Emperor now. This was a decision she made because she didn’t have much of a choice, but that won’t make it any easier to have to see Elias as an enemy next time she sees him.  

There were a lot of morally grey decisions that were made by Elias and even Marcus. Despite what a horrible person Marcus is, I still feel terrible that he had to kill his younger brother, Zak. Elias is also going to be having nightmares for a long time of all the people he killed. Out of all the villainous characters in the book, though, I have to give it up for the Commandant. The woman is conniving as you can get and was able to get exactly what she wanted in the end by playing the Resistance and Laia. She is as cruel as the Empire she is a part of considering she uses her slave’s personal relationships against them and is completely willing to kill her son. Elias is a sweetheart in comparison and it’s so hard to fathom that she came out of that monster. Elias is shown to be very kind despite the despondent empire he is forced to live under. It really comes to show that people can choose to be better despite their environment. I’m looking forward to see how Elias and Laia work together in order to save her brother. Until the next installment for now.