It is hard to put into words how much I loved the conclusion of this brilliantly written duology. From characters that are impossible not to fall in love with to one of the most unique magic systems that I have ever read, this book had everything I needed to block out the world around me and dedicated every free moment to reading. After falling completely in love with the first book in the series, One Dark Window, I was worried that the second in the series could not meet my incredibly high expectations. Thank goodness that I can say, with complete transparency, that not only did this book meet expectations, it blew right through them like a runaway train.
There is not a single character in this series that did not captivate me completely. The heroes were not only heroic, but they were well rounded and flawed in the best ways possible. They drew one another up and flourished through shared motivations. Each of them had to overcome the darkness that had been thrust upon them and their journey made it hard to stop reading. The villains were absolutely horrendous and it made it incredibly easy for audiences to understand and root for the heroes. If I go into any more details, I will definitely spoil something, so I’ll just keep my mouth shut from here.
The idea of magic cards that limits the magic users is absolutely fascinating. From the creation of the cards to the limitations of each card, the whole system is well thought out. There are a handful of cards that are focused on, and that limitation allowed for the cards to be truly fleshed out. I am hoping that there will be other books that take place in the same world because there is just so much possibility and I have so many more questions!
I could absolutely talk about this 5 star read for hours!
This series does deal with some very dark topics and triggers should be checked if necessary.
A huge thank you to Netgalley and Orbit Books for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
The Novel Llama 