This is the book form of stepping onto a spaceship and having your molecules torpedoed across the galaxy not only onto a new timeline, but to a universe far away that is still somehow adjacent to ours. And this alternative universe… it makes your head spin like a top, as it tries to absorb all the sights and sounds your consciousness is suddenly downloaded into.
Small question, uhm, has a book ever taunted you? I know they can stalk us. Algorithms and such making them pop up everywhere. But I mean taunt. As in you see the book and you see people talking about the book and you feel like a little invisible tug on your soul that whispers, “You should read me.” Just randomly, when you are looking over your TBR list and looking at the cover, you hear, “You should read me.”
I have never before read this kind of twist on the existence of Vampires, Fae, and Magical Humans. It was a refreshing take! The book is one of those that gradually slides new information to you, the reader. It feels as though petal by petal you are diving deeper into a story that is hiding major secrets.
The problem with finishing an EPIC series very late at night is that you have to lie there alone in the dark and contemplate the meaning of life. You cannot message your friends, you might wake them and make them start reading. You cannot scream into the abyss and ask, “What am I supposed to do now?” You might wake up your household.
I am an adult. An actual adult, with a job. Even though I freelance and consult so I can, to an extent, determine my work hours. Nevertheless, I have work hours, and things I need to do in, you know, daylight, when most creatures stir. What I SHOULD NOT be doing is staying up until 3 am reading a book! That is irresponsible! Doing that will affect my day and the things I need to accomplish in that day.
To be transparent, when I found this series, (it is 3 books I have finished the first 2) I was still looking for a Fourth Wing substitute. And initially, the book starts off a little bit slow, and might seem a bit more for a younger audience. So I was a bit put off, but decided that I was enjoying the actual writing and would keep going. In the beginning, we meet Annie and Lee, and a dorm full of young Dragon riders, who have been trained as the elite fighting force for a country that went through a very bloody revolution.
Imagine living a normal boring life, where you are an outcast and keeping a low profile, until your mother dies and suddenly, you find out you are the heiress to the kingdom you have always lived in the dregs of. The infighting that would follow, the drama, the knowledge uncovered, all of that is in this series. Simply put, I loved it.
This was brilliantly written. Just like book 1, as I picked it up, I had to keep going until it was finished. There are stories that move you and then there are the stories that stay with you forever. This book will make its mark on your soul and hold a treasured place.
Instinctively a wonderful voice inside my head told me to not start Book 1 until I had Book 2 in hand. Thankfully it was not a long wait for me and it was the BEST decision ever. Not only will this book steal you away, and make you forget everything else going on, but it gives you an ending that will leave you instantly craving more!