Content Warnings: Violence, (graphic) threats of rape, gore, suicide, murder, grief, body horror,

Sometimes you go into a book knowing your general levels of stress and wonder are going to be elevated. And sometimes, despite your best attempts at preparation, you are still thrown for a loop at every turn; awe, hurt feelings, and frustrations running wild. This was my experience with THE IKESSAR FALCON, an incredible continuance in the Chronicle of the Bitch Queen series.
Picking up soon after the events of THE WOLF OF OREN-YARO, THE IKESSAR FALCON sees Tali reckon with the position she has found herself in, and with the very few options she has moving forward. Still away from home, her legacy being attacked from all sides, and with her son’s life under threat, Tali embarks on an exapansive journey, introducing us to new parts of her world, to be the Bitch Queen she was always made to be, in the name of survival.
So much of what I enjoyed from THE WOLF OF OREN-YARO is held on to in this story. The writing style is still filled with wit and humour, and is capable of producing clear imagery. The world is still a bit of a mess being run by greedy, messy people who could care less about those who don’t elevate their power. Tali is still being put through the ringer. A nice addition to that is that the other characters are put through it as well, which hurts my feelings but also makes me feel better that Tali is less alone in all of it. All we are introduced to in this story builds on the lore and worldbuilding that we already know, increasing the stakes and complicating the playing field.
The story follows a quick pace packed with action, deceit, lore, complex relationships, and a smattering of dragons. Villoso once again does an excellent job of balancing exciting fight scenes, tense political interactions, and softer personal moments. I experienced multiple moments of pure frustration at all the obstacles our cast of characters had to face, accompanied with admiration at the ways they consistently managed to overcome them. Layered with acts of revenge, betrayal, desperation, devotion, and fear, this series continues to cement itself as a personal favourite.
While the first book spent time revealing the shortcomings of Tali’s teachings and rule, THE IKESSAR FALCON sees her struggle with the decision of who she wants to be – the queen she wants to be, outside of the weight of her father’s legacy, and the expectations of the warlords. Tali spends a lot of time facing her past and dealing with the outcome of every decision made during and before her rule, by her and her predecessors. The time for hesitation and unwavering trust has passed. No longer relying on the safety and loyalty her titile should have granted her, Tali charges into every situation head on, with more confidence, trying her best to make the right choice, the smart choice.
I will probably take the time to create a separate post so I can truly delve into the personal relationships of this series, but I will say I am continuously floored by how well Villoso portrays messy relationships between hurt people who ultimately put aside their feelings for the greater good yet are also slightly oblivious to how greatly that impacts their choices and actions, and as a result the people and situations surrounding them. The balance of messy characters doing their best and expansive world building in this series is what gives it a special place in my heart. That and the fact that the established villain had a grand total of ~5% page time and still managed to put me on edge throughout the entire story.

I was so enraptured by the events of this story, that I wanted to drag it out forever to fully be able to wrap my head around all that happened. It continues to set up what is sure to be a thrilling, and stressful, conclusion. I am excited to see the path Tali chooses to ensure the survival of her loved ones, to see the carnage that is encroaching ever close to the nation of Jin-Sayeng. I mentioned in my review of THE WOLF OF OREN-YARO that reading the story felt like a swift kick to the teeth, and THE IKESSAR FALCON is no different. I was left feeling just as battered and bruised as the characters and yet, I cannot help but impatiently wait for more.

Absolutely breathtaking. The tension, the intricacy, the intimacy, all make for a lot of tears and frustration and late nights promising myself one more chapter. K.S. Villoso has outdone herself by following Tali on her journey as she not only questions everything she has ever known as well as faces some of her deepest flaws.

Between the complex political situations she's in, as well as the more delicate personal relationships she has, watching Tali gave me strength but also made me want to shut the book for a second if only to give her (me) a second to breathe.

The transition from the first to the second was seamless, and Talyien's story is more than one of a mother trying to get back to her son. She deals with trying to protect the future of her son, facing the ghosts of her (and her father's) past, all while trying to change and confront who she is now.

The Ikessar Falcon is the second book in K.S. Villoso's Filipino-inspired Epic Fantasy series, "Chronicles of the Bitch Queen". I really liked the first book in this series, with its fascinating heroine, torn between what others - including her dead father - expect of her and her duties and lost in a part of the world she is unfamiliar with, and was really excited to see what was going to happen next. As I noted in my prior review, I believe this series was first self-published, but Orbit picked it up for republishing, and it was through Orbit that I managed to snag an early copy to review.

And well, The Ikessar Falcon is a damn hard book to review. On one hand, our protagonist, Talyien, remains fascinating in how she's developed from book 1, and the world expands in many many ways as she and her few allies return home from the city of the first book, dealing with threats new and old. On the other hand, I'd hoped that she would be able to make a "breakthrough" and take a stand for the idea of her having her own personal wants in this book, which uhhhh doesn't really happen, letting a real asshole of a character mostly off the hook. This is very much a story in transition here, and it's a LONG one, the longest book I've read all year, which only makes it all a bit more frustrating.

NOTE: This book comes with a few page long "The Story So Far" summary of book 1, to make it easier to jump right in without having to reread the first novel. I cannot tell you how much I appreciated that.


-----------------------------------------------Plot Summary-------------------------------------------------------

Talyien of Oren-Yaro, Bitch Queen of Jin-Sayeng, is stuck in the Empire, far from her home - where disloyal warlords may be making a power play at this very moment. Even worse, while she remains stuck in the City behind a blockade, her husband Rayyel has threatened to find a way home and to kill her son Thanh - should magic prove Thanh to be the son of another man. Desperate to get back to protect her son, Talyien, her two remaining retainers and Khine - former medical student turned conman - know they will need to take desperate steps and forge a dangerous alliance to track down Rayyel and protect her son.

But the situation in Jin-Sayeng is even more perilous than Talyien could have imagined. In addition to the threat of a made Zarojo Prince, Jin-Sayeng is once again on the verge of war, as the squabbling warlords have taken advantage of Talyien's absence to consolidate their grips on power, even when it would violate taboo. Thanh himself remains in a castle with members of her husband's traitorous clan all around him and they have every reason to hate her blood. And even worse than all that is a magical threat Talyien could never have imagined, which threatens to destroy it all while the humans of her people are busy killing each other.....

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For the second straight novel, this novel is told from some point in the future, a point that this book again never reaches. It's a weird choice that leads to some initial confusion, but mostly is easy to ignore as Talyien's narration is really strong. The book is split into three parts, with the first part featuring Talyien and crew's escape from the Empire back into her country and the final two parts feature Talyien struggling to deal with what she finds in her own country.

As such, this book is very much expanding upon the world, introducing us to elements that we've previously only seen in Talyien's head - the different factions of Jin-Sayeng, the belief in the merits or blasphemy of magic and how that magic works, magical creatures, etc. It's a massive expansion of a world which we previously could only imagine, limited to the city for the most part in the Empire, and it really works damn well, although I had trouble telling different warlords apart until they were introduced. It's a fascinating world filled with threats and possibilities, and it made me want more - and didn't even make me upset when it became clear how much would be unresolved by the novel's end.

Of course, the focus of this story remains upon Talyien, and there things are a bit more frustrating. In the first novel, Talyien was an overly trusting ruler despite the vicious warlords she had to deal with at home, unable to understand the backstabbing and unfriendliness in the Empire between ordinary people of different classes. Moreover, she carried guilt over her one act of unfaithfulness which drove Rayyel away, a man who she more or less forces herself to believe she loves - despite the fact that he was even more unfaithful. And she found herself discovering more truths about her dead father, the man who molded her into what she was, that turned her stomach. The first novel used her unfamiliarity with the Empire and city life to deal with themes like imperialism, class issues, and discrimination based upon gender and some of that is still here, although we lose a lot of the issues with Imperialism as we leave the Empire.

But the events of the first novel changed Talyien and she's not nearly the same person she was there - no longer so easily trusting, and now extremely cynical about it all. With her father's legacy now in question - with the very likely possibility that he sold her life to a monster in betrayal of his supposed ideals - she clings even more tightly to the idea of duty and image. So while she knows how hypocritical it is for her to feel guilted by her husband for her infidelity when he had affairs FIRST, she can't get over how her doing so jeopardized her claim on the Empire and thus gives in to his framing of the whole situation as HER fault. She refuses to deal with the two other men in her group, both of whom clearly have feelings for her, and the feelings she might have for the two of them - particularly Khine. If you - like myself - were hoping she'd assert her own wants and desires in this book, you'll be disappointed, instead she insists for the entirety of this book of trying to pretend she can't have any that exist outside maintaining the appearances she needs as the Queen she believes she has to be....even as all of that is stripped from her.

The result is frustrating at times, with it making me want to scream at Talyien repeatedly for the path she insists upon taking. If this book was shorter it'd probably be less of an issue but it's honestly with it being so long, I wanted a reversal that never comes. And mind you despite that, it DOES work to carry the plot, even as Talyien keeps getting herself in one bad situation after another (and the # of times in the plot she finds herself captured is high enough to start a drinking game over). And the new characters and situations met continue to keep the story steeped in themes of class and gender, so it's not like we're dealing with less serious subjects here. And while I haven't mentioned them here, I really like the other characters we deal with here and how they all interact, from the old ones like Khine Aggo and Nor to new ones like the specific warlords and rulers with their own agendas and beliefs on their minds.

In short, The Ikessar Falcon is a second novel that perhaps drops a level from the first book, with a strong expansion of the world but frustrating character development for such a long book. I still very much long forward to the trilogy's conclusion in the Spring of next year, to see how it ends, and hope Talyean can find a way to live in happiness without the legacy of her father or rules of her title to weigh her down any longer.

A+ | Thrilling, intricate, phenomenal. I genuinely don’t think I will ever be able to describe how much I adore The Ikessar Falcon by K.S. Villoso. Every single detail is ornate and elaborate. This book is a grand cathedral wherein every single element — from the stone to the artwork to the chandeliers to the pews — were carefully selected and lovingly crafted to bring this world and these characters to life. Like its predecessor, this adult fantasy succeeds in being so full of life and being so unapologetically Filipino by reflecting those good and bad aspects of Filipino society.

Warning: I am assuming that you have read The Wolf of Oren-Yaro before reading this review. Please click below at your own discretion.

— REVIEW:
Let’s get this out of the way right now. I love The Ikessar Falcon more than the first one. There, I said it. Quite an accomplishment, right? Middle book syndrome is nowhere to be found here. I’m still reeling over this book. It took me several days to complete it (despite the fact I was only reading this book) because I savored every moment. Also, because I was annotating this time around. My ARC is covered in sticky flags and underlying (in pencil).

The Plot was on point.
The first book didn’t allow us to breathe. But this book? Villoso would give you hope, let you breathe, and then manage to make you scream. I can’t tell you the number of times my heart stopped and jumped. No lie? I wrote expletives multiple times throughout my ARC copy. I couldn’t help it! Hell, there were some nights I ended up drinking a glass of wine while I was reading. Other nights, I had to force myself to do other things or sleep early because all I wanted to do was read.

It is that good.

There were those moments when I felt like things were moving a little too slowly.

The Worldbuilding shines bright once again.
It is vivid and alive. Once more, the worldbuilding is natural and seamless. It is easy to picture as every aspect of the world: from the environment to the food. How? Everything is provided for you on a silver platter. Do you know how many times I ended up hungry after a reading session?

Too many damn times!

I adored that Villoso once again explores real-world issues in this novel. She continues with that trend of showing us the inequalities between gender, social status, and ethnicity. There is an attempt to discuss (critique) social classes and how the current system only benefits some — not all. She also dives in-depth to show us how Jin-Sayeng’s government and social ladder functions.

And you know what?

Jin-Sayeng’s government parallels the Philippine government.
Now, I am Filipino, but I grew up here in the US, so my views are that of an outsider in this case. If you are a Filipino back home and there is a mistake here (or you disagree), please feel free to let me know.

Part of the reason I saw this parallel is because of the fact that clans quarrel with each other for power while ignoring their country’s numerous and glaring problems. Cosmetic fixes are done, which are nothing more than bandages on a festering wound. Reports that are meant to inform the nation’s leader of the happenings within regions are falsified. Then there’s also the fact that some areas are basically ignored. These regions are left to their own devices to deal with whatever problems happening there.

In a way, Talyein unfortunately, plays a role in this continuous cycle. She is willfully ignorant. She acknowledges that there are issues, and corruption is rampant in her kingdom. However, she doesn’t act on them to make some sort of difference. She feeds into the status quo.

To make matters worse, she knows little about the true ongoings within her kingdom. She doesn’t bother to look into things herself. She was far too busy chasing ghosts and an absentee husband to make an impact that matters.

Harsh, yes. But it is the truth.

And the Pièce de Résistance? The Characters.
Villoso’s character work is absolutely phenomenal. The characters are all incredibly intricate and intriguing figures. She isn’t afraid to explore the ugly side of humanity to bring these people to life.

Talyien continues to shine. I have already discussed my thoughts on the similarities between her and real-life Filipino women, so I won’t rehash that here.

But God, I love Talyien. I absolutely worship the ground Villoso walks on because she has crafted one of my favorite characters. She is so intricate, so flawed, so human. There were those moments where I could absolutely understand where she was coming from, but then there were those other times when I could not.

Had it not been for risking spoilers? I would be rambling on and on about her.

Look, Talyien loves with her entire heart and soul. You can never question her love for country and family. But between this love? There is that never-ending question of legacy.

To quote the musical Hamilton: Legacy. What is a legacy? It’s planting seeds in a garden you never get to see.
As Yeshin’s only living child, Talyien is forced to carry on his legacy. Throughout the series, much of her actions have had her question, “What would Yeshin’s daughter do?”

Not Talyien. Not Tali. Yeshin’s daughter.

She spent her entire life wondering, “What would my father say?” She’s not thinking for herself. This line of thinking has hampered her ability to function as a queen, wife, and mother. As I said above, she spent too much time chasing ghosts and allowing this toxic mentality to rule over her life.

Do I think it’s fair that Talyien must carry this burden of her father’s legacy while also dealing with this misogynistic society that expects perfection right off the bat? No, of course not. It’s complete bullish!t.

Had Talyien been a man, do I think that the warlords (& thus the people) would be quicker to forgive her? That they would have given her a second or a third or a tenth chance at being a good ruler? Absolutely.

This brings me to my next point.

Men can make as many mistakes as they want, but they will still command more respect than Talyien (and real-life Filipino women).
As I mentioned before, I saw many similarities between Talyien and real-life Filipino women. But for this book, I could not help but notice the similarities between Rayyel, Agos, and real-life Filipino men. They’re all cut from the same cloth. Ok, before you try to feed me to a dragon, hear me out.

Rayyel prefers to keep his head buried in books and prefers cold hard logic over anything else. He keeps his heart and emotions locked away. I have multiple entries throughout my ARC copy, where I question whether Rayyel can feel emotions at all. Then you have Agos who is all about violence and using force, even when it’s obviously incredibly stupid. He wears his heart on his sleeves and makes no attempt to hide his feelings.

But while they have these differences, they sit on opposite sides of the same coin.
It doesn’t matter that one is royal, and the other is not. Much like many Filipino men, hypocrisy is embedded in both of their DNA. And unfortunately, like Filipino men, they can get away with so much because society lets them. While Talyien is crucified by everyone for her actions, these men can do the exact same thing and get away with it.

They dare to scold Talyien for her actions even though they are doing the exact same thing. It is outrageous, so utterly infuriating, and quite frankly? Upsetting.

It goes back to the point I made in my review of the first book. Talyien parallels Filipino women who bear the brunt of society’s expectations. She is expected to exceed people’s expectations of her while staying within the lines of her gender’s “responsibilities” and “roles.” She can never make a mistake because she must be as perfect in every role she is placed into: daughter, wife, mother, lover, princess, queen. It doesn’t matter if others make mistakes. It becomes her duty to fix it because it is somehow her fault.

Rayyel and Agos, on the other hand?

They are free to make as many mistakes as possible.
Consequences? What consequences? They are not the ones who will bear the burden of their mistakes and actions.

Take a look at Rayyel. Although he was the one who made the conscious decision to abandon his family and his duties, Talyien is the one who carried the burden of his decision all these years. Talyien made attempts to keep their marriage alive even before it began. Rayyel, on the other hand, was the one whose head as buried elsewhere. And yet according to society, whose fault is it that this marriage collapsed?

And let’s not forget Agos. Have you have followed my live tweets or my GR updates? Well, if you did, then you know by now I absolutely found Agos abhorrent so forgive me as I try to contain my rage when writing about him.

Agos is the biggest hypocrite of them all.
He is no different from Rayyel. The only difference between them is where Rayyel attempts to use cold hard logic to deal with his problems, Agos uses violence. You can reason with Rayyel. Give him the facts and present it with considerable evidence, and he will see the light.

Agos, on the other hand? His loyalty is to Talyien and Talyien alone. The combination of his deep devotion to Talyien and his excessive use of violence makes him far more terrifying, in my opinion. On the surface, Agos seems like this wonderful, albeit troubled, man who adores Talyien and is on her side. But I could not support or stand him due to his machismo, hypocrisy, and actions throughout this book.

I may be writing a post where I discuss this in further detail. Since this is an ARC review, I want to give people a chance to read this book for themselves without me spoiling essential details about specific people.

However, I want you to take a close look at the things he tells people. I want you to pay close attention to the things he does and the things he scolds other characters, including Talyien, for doing or saying.

Do I recommend The Ikessar Falcon?
Holy moly cannoli, HECK YES!!!! Pick up this book immediately. Or pick up The Wolf of Oren-Yaro first if you haven’t read that and then read The Ikessar Falcon immediately after. You are truly missing out on some masterful storytelling set in a Southeast Asian inspired world if you don’t pick this series up ASAP.

The Ikessar Falcon is the continuing story of Talyien aren dar Orenar, the Queen of Jin-Sayeng. After the events of The Wolf of Oren-yaro, Tali is trapped across the sea in the Empire of Ziri-nar-Orxiaro, held there by an embargo placed by… well, someone who really doesn’t want her to leave. Tali is desperate to get back to Jin-Sayeng because her son’s life is in danger. So, she does everything that’s in her power to get home. And shenanigans are very much had.

Just as when I read it the first time, I enjoyed The Ikessar Falcon very much. Tali has really grown as a character and she continues to grow throughout the book. Characters that grew on me in book one are back, as are characters that I did not like so much. We see more of Tali’s estranged husband Rayyel in this one (as would be expected, considering he is the titular Ikessar Falcon). Khine and Agos are still around as well, being their most ridiculous selves. We see more action in this one, I found. Tali is fighting her enemies as well as new enemies closer to home, and the fighting has become a lot more physical than just words. Intrigue and political maneuvering are happening on both sides of the sea, and we go on a thrillride through it just as Tali does.

Then there are the dragons. Many dragons. Handle it, Tali.

This series is very character driven, and it has those characters you can’t help but love, and other characters that you can’t help but loathe. Most of all though, Villoso has crafted some of the most tense romantic tension between characters that I’ve ever read. It made this book very difficult to set aside to do things like eat, even despite the fact that I have read it before (that said, food is described in some detail in this book and it makes me hungry every time, lol). I knew… things… were going to happen. And yet, it was almost more feels-jostling the second time around, knowing what was to come.

This was a hard book to put down, especially in the second half, because there is just so much stuff going on. This is very much a ‘okay, just oooone more chapter’ book for me, and suddenly 3am is staring me in the face. It just compels you to keep on reading no matter the time. This time around, the last quarter or so of this book was even more feels-jostling than I remember. I didn’t have my feels shields up as much as I should have and suddenly I was having feelings about characters that I didn’t even like. ಠ_ಠ

So all told, I think I loved this book even more the second time around. I’m not sure if that’s because it’s gone through some additional re-writes and editing since I read it the first time, or if it’s because I just needed a reread of this book in my life, but either way, my rating hasn’t changed. It’s still a full 5/5 stars!~

preventing total chaos
Following the events of The Wolf of Oren-Yaro, Talyien must to find a way home and save her son before the entire nation erupts into a giant bloodbath. The uneasy alliances she makes and every step of her journey determines the future of the lands her father shed so much blood to unify. We're united with a cast of characters that, despite their imperfections and my misgivings, have grown on me quite a bit (well except for a certain esteemed prince). This sequel easily has all the elements of epic fantasy that I adore but manages to add a level of intricacy that makes it wholly unique.

honoring the legacy
Dare I say, the most iconic line of this series is, "they call me the bitch queen?" I swear every time I hear or read that line I just want to fist pump in the air. From the beginning, Talyien has completely redefined what it means to be a strong heroine in adult fantasy. As a mother, she is driven by her love and protection for her son; as a queen, she must grapple with the understanding that her life and decisions are never fully her own. Her struggles, while I cannot relate to personally, resonated with me because of her need to honor the world her father had created. She has to question how his vision was crumbling if it was meant to establish peace and unity among the warlords.

This explores the conversation on honoring the legacies of the past which is something I loved reading about. Traditions are an aspect of modern and fantastical societies that dictate how our lives are organized. The societal norm and class structures are a construct that we see challenged yet the change that is desired is rarely brought about. Through the lens of Talyien and the Oren-yaro, we are able to catch a glimpse into the power that traditions hold - something that is reminiscent of many Asian cultures. The histories of one's culture are often contradicted with the "progressive pathway" of the present, especially in today's age, and the portrayal of the struggle to balance change with the fear of destroying the past hit me so hard.

no such thing as allies
I am a sucker for plot and high-stakes politics and The Ikessar Falcon delivers that and more. Where the first installment includes inevitable danger and constantly shifting loyalties that hold together Jin-Sayeng, the sequel introduces a whole new level of complexities with the political schemes of the warlords. One of the best aspects of this story, in particular, is how the development of the plot is mirrored by the development of the characters. Talyien is forced to determine how much of her father's legacy she is willing to embody and if becoming Yeshin's daughter is worth the risk of losing herself.

Enemies become allies only for allies to become enemies and there seems to be no end to how far the decisions of the dead continue to control the actions of the living.

I finished The Ikessar Falcon days ago and I still don't know how to write this book review. First off, we stan a book series that includes a mini-recap at the beginning. Considering the bombshells that went off in The Wolf of Oren Yaro, we all know we needed one. While I utterly fell in love with Tali in the first book, what I adored in the sequel was how much Villoso expanded on Tali's world. I will always be in awe of how masterful Villoso is able to balance a growing world, political tensions, and betrayals. The Ikessar Falcon is one of the best fantasy sequels I've read in a while.

What I loved was how familiar and different this sequel was. On one hand, I was so happy to be back not only with Tali, but with the other characters in this world. I fell back into this book, immersed in the politics, and the new adventures. But at the same time, The Ikessar Falcon feels different altogether as Tali is forced to examine her power as a ruler and her relationships. It's a sequel that takes us even deeper not only into the betrayals and secrets, but also into Tali's life. Her expectations, her longing, and her mindset.

I requested an ARC of the first book in this series kind of on a whim. To be frank, I was actually kind of put off by the series being titled "Chronicles of the Bitch Queen." I mean, I get it...she-wolves, bitch, yep. And I'm sure it's also `tied in with the fact that Talyien is not a beloved queen. But still, it's kind of an abrasive series title, and I wasn't sure what exactly I was getting into. Turned out, what I was getting into was an intriguing new fantasy world headed-up by a no-nonsense but still deeply flawed heroine. So after finishing that first book, it was really exciting to see that the second was coming out only 6 months later. And here we are!

Talyien's situation hadn't started out well when she set off from her homeland in the hopes of reconciling with the husband that had abandoned her and her son years earlier. It had only gotten worse since with repeated assassination attempts, betrayal, said husband heading back to her home, potentially to kill their son, leaving Talyien stranded in a foreign country with very few friends. But she is nothing if not persistent, especially when the life of her son is at stake. As she makes her way back to him, however, Talyien covers an even deeper web of lies, one that exists not only in the present but extends back to the past.

I think I liked this book even more than the first! For one thing, I'm still really enjoying the first person narration but told from the POV of an adult woman. All too often, the only place I really see first person narration is in YA novels with teenage protagonists. And this, in turn, leads to a certain immaturity in their focus (don't get me wrong, I still love me a good YA fantasy, but the narrators can sometimes be a bit silly). But here, we have an adult who has a full history behind her, one that she is capable of looking back on and recognizing her own and others' mistakes. It also makes all of her interactions with those around her particularly interesting. In some ways, she's an unreliable narrator as her perceptions of others and their motivations are always colored by what she knows (or guesses) about them. But we also have an inside look into how their actions and words influence her.

This book also seemed to expand on almost all aspects. We see more of the world-building as Talyien and her crew travel around trying to make their way back to her son. I really enjoyed out fully fleshed out this world feels. We hear about the different foods, languages, and cultural behaviors from place to place. And it's all presented in a very natural-feeling way, no info dumping. There was also more of magic to found in this second book and more action in general.

I also really liked how much more we learned about Talyien's father and his actions. There's also a pretty deep-dive into the lasting influence that her father has had on Talyien. From the very start of the book, it's clear that his perceptions of her, his lessons, his strengths and failures as a parent are a continual influence on Talyien's own perception of herself and of the choices she can make. She, of course, is also unreliable in her memories of him, as we, the reader, can see some of his flaws in a more clear way than she can.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It felt like it took what the first book laid down as a foundation and started really building up from there. Everything just felt more fully fleshed out, and the story was even more exciting. Of course, it's no surprise that Talyien's story doesn't end here with rainbows and butterflies, so I'm excited to see what happens in the third book. Don't forget to enter to win an ARC copy of this book as well!

Rating 8: Even bigger and better than the first!

Link will go live 9/18