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Finished this five minutes ago. No spoilers – real thoughts.

Things I liked:

• The Dragons (as in book one, I think this is exactly how dragons should be)
• Specifically, Tairn & Andarna. Definitely my favorite
• The squad dynamics and loyalty going on
• Love the action
• Love that BIG plot events happened, and that Violet played a huge part in them, really coming into her own
• The perfection of the audiobook narration
• The family dynamics
• The action scenes
• Huge stakes
• The real feeling that no one is safe

Things I didn’t like:

• Violet & Xaden have one ongoing fight for the entirety of this 28 hour audiobook, and it is about something (imho) ridiculous, to the point of feeling contrived for the sake of relationship tension. I like Violet pretty much the entire time except when she is with Xaden.
• The ending. While the last book left me with a feeling of satisfaction after a book-long build to a reveal… I don’t think I got enough closure/resolution in this one to justify the abrupt cliffhanger. Which basically makes it feel like this book doesn’t stand alone in any way, but is rather a stepping stone to book 3. I know it won’t bother most people that love long series, but it’s a big pet peeve of mine. After 28 hours, I would like to close the book with a satisfying pay-off or clawing for the next one… and I don’t really feel either.

So, I think I liked it about the same as the first book, which is to say – solid read and will read book 3, but probably won’t make my 2023 favorite books list.

⭐⭐⭐⭐½

Thanks for reading!