by Hayley Reese Chow

YA Fantasy, Independently Published in 2021, 203 Pages

What I Didn’t Like:

Some repetition of phrases or ideas. The one that stood out the most is the location of the scars on two of the characters. It’s mentioned a lot.
Some of the action scenes are clunky and awkward. Fighting/action can be hard to write in a way that’s easy to picture, this one has the extra struggle of multiple characters in the action. Sometimes it works, sometimes it’s too wordy.
I knew to expect it because this is not the final book in the series, but the ending left a lot of unanswered questions. Basically, I wanted more!

Easily drop right back into the world. There’s enough back information to remind you what was happening in the previous book without overloading you if you’re reading them back to back.
Makeo and Witt are fantastic characters. They’re both loyal, driven, and smart. Plus with Makeo you also get an interesting take on curses.
Everything related to yanna and the shadow realm is well written. You gave enough detail woven into the story to feel like you understand it all and accept it as fact yet you are never lost in the descriptions. It doesn’t ever feel like you’re sitting through a boring lecture on the topic.

Readers of upper middle grade or YA fantasy who want action and a type of magic, this is a great series. Start with Odriel’s Heirs and enjoy!

This sequel is only an improvement on what was a good opening book. Settled into the characters and the world now we can explore the depth of the shadow plane and really get into the action.