★★★★☆ 4 stars

Wow wow wow. The connection, the banter, the tension between Kai and Paedyn in this book? Everything.

I wanted more of them in Powerless, and this sequel absolutely gave me what I was craving — page after page of stolen glances, loaded silences, and slow-burn moments that made my heart ache in the best way. It’s mostly about their journey back to the castle.

There’s so much yearning packed into the space between the lines — him chasing, her resisting, and both of them pretending they’re not completely unraveling every time they’re near each other. Their bond quietly strengthens as they’re forced to confront not just each other, but what they mean to each other. And those deep little moments? Devastating in the best way.

That said, the plot takes a bit of a breather in this one. It’s more of a character-focused setting— lots of walking, talking, running, and hiding. There isn’t a ton of advancement in the overarching story or side character arcs (aside from a few important scenes). But if you're here for the romance? For the emotionally-charged dialogue and tender unraveling of two guarded people? You will eat this up. (And I did.)

I had so much fun reading this — even though I did get spoiled on the ending twist (😭 still salty), the emotional payoff was still so good. I am fully, irrevocably attached to this love story. To Kai. To Paedyn. To the electricity between them that feels like it could burn kingdoms to the ground.
🖤 Bring on the next book. I am not okay.

🩶 Favorite moment:
“You are my proof of a paradise.”
Excuse me while I cry forever.

“But I dare to lift my hand. Dare to raise it up to her nose, her body blocking the movement. Dare to flick the tip of it one last time, hoping she hears my words hidden within the action.
I love you.” 💔❤️‍🔥

“the sound of her laugh is healing, capable of a man forgetting his own name, let alone his pain.”

🌌 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒔 𝑭𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅:

(These are my fav type of trope lol always gets me!! )

💭 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝑴𝒆:
I was so hooked on the current timeline, while also being beautifully distracted by these cinematic, emotional flashbacks to past lives. Like... the detail in those worlds? ✨ Beautiful. Sometimes I forgot I was in a "main" story because I wanted to live in those past timelines longer.

Also, Evelyn and Arden??? Their connection is soul-deep. They’ve loved and lost each other in every lifetime and STILL they find each other. It's heartbreaking and beautiful and frustrating in that "throw the book gently at the wall but also cry about it later" kind of way 😩💔

⏳ 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝑰 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉:
Okay sooo... I have mixed feelings about the structure. I love a good flashback, especially when they’re this rich and well-written, but there were a lot of them. And sometimes they pulled me out of the urgency of the present story. I wanted to stay with what was happening now, but I’d get dropped into a whole other life and be like—wait, where were we? Are we 1600s sad now or 2020s sad? 😩

And the ending… yeah, it answered everything, but emotionally?? I was a puddle. It felt a little rushed for how much build-up there was. I didn’t hate it, but it didn’t hit as hard as I wanted it to after all that slow burn tension and soul-deep suffering. I think I just wanted one lifetime where they got a break 😭

🫶 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒕:
If you love timelines, heartbreak, and characters doomed by fate but still reaching for each other — this is for you. The connection between Evelyn & Arden absolutely transcends their bodies (and timelines... and death)

Was it messy? Yes. Was it painful? YES.

But also… I ate it up 😭🍽️

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆ ❝ 𝐐𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 ❞ ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆  

“Though, without you, there would be no poetry. I would have only the harsh lens of my own worldview. I wouldn’t be able to see the beauty of life, because I only see it through your eyes. Muse is too simple a word for what you are to me.”

“ Ya’aburnee was a favourite. It means “may you bury me”. It’s the idea that one person in a pairing longs to die before the other, because living without them would be too excruciating. I wrote about how we’ll never have to worry about that.”

“If a hero is someone who will give up love to save the world, then a villain is the reverse. Someone who will give up the world to save love.”

“My heart is a haunted house surrounded by a moat of my own digging, kept empty of warmth so that I will not miss it come winter.”

“in the last thousand years:

empires have risen and fallen

and I have loved you,”

“even when we are but bones in the earth

my eternal heart will love you still,

for even when a star does perish

its light burns on for millennia”