3.5/5

For fans of: empire settings, sisterhood, rivals-to-lovers, monsters, ghosts/spirits, animal companions, long journeys, banter/flirting, easy summer fantasy read

Synopsis: Having journeyed across the Wastes, Ashyn and Moria are given the task of accompanying Prince Tyrus to deal with the insurgence in Edgewood. Unfortunately, Edgewood is only the beginning as the twins are pulled in deeper than just a small insurgency, but a plot to overthrow the empire.

Review: Moria and Ashyn really irked my nerves in this book. To be fair, the choices of all the main characters irked me, but that’s typical since they are all still teenagers. There were a lot of moving parts in this middle installment, with quite a bit being implied as characters weave in and out of the girls POV. This hampered the storytelling for me since we are given so little information of what’s going on beyond what the girls are told or experience meaning a lot of exposition in certain parts. We do get to delve deeper into the politics and background between Kitsune and Emperor Tatsu’s rivalry, which I really enjoyed. I also enjoyed the tension in the relationships between Prince Tyrus and Moria as well as Ronan and Ashyn. The “will they, won’t they” is very age appropriate and frustrated me to no end, but that’s the point. Overall, an enjoyable middle chapter.