I had high expectations for this since the first book was one of my favorite reads of 2021. Since I don’t read nearly as much young adult anymore, that means it must be exceptional. I’m sure I’ll be in the minority when I say I didn’t like this one as much. I was excited to read about Neve’s side of the story after she is trapped in the Shadowlands. I loved the lore side of this story that expounded on many of the plot points of book one and two. The worldbuilding remained exceptional but the pace felt much slower to me. I had to keep coming back to finish it a few chapters at a time. I felt like Neve and Solmir don’t get time to form the same connection that Red and her Wolf created in book one. I loved Red in book one, but her actions while attempting to rescue Neve were frustrating. I didn’t enjoy Neve in book one, but I found a way to like her is this one, especially with her seemingly insurmountable task of defeating the Kings with Solmir‘s help. Raffe, the Wolf, and Solmir were the characters that remained the same for me in both. This wasn’t for me, but I am sure plenty of other people will love it. (3/5 rating)
