5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Flight of the Fallen
Author: Hana Lee

Thank you so much Netgalley, and Saga Press for this ARC! Also, thanks to my book buddy Vee for turning me on to this series. This series is so unlike any other I have read. Mad-max meets fantasy, with a poly relationship thrown in.. and monstrous creatures with a dystopian vibe? Sign me up over and over again. Our three main characters are back again with an alternating pov, fast paced story where the tensions between the talented, and talentless are on the rise. They must band together to fight the forces of evil in their world and prevent civil war from taking place. Each of the characters has their own journey, with growth and full-circle moments that felt so well done. Their arcs were emotional, satisfying, and gave the story real depth. I loved how everything wrapped up in a way that felt earned. I encourage readers to give this series a try. I am looking forward to more from Hana Lee!

As the conclusion to the duology, Flight of the Fallen delivers a significantly stronger and more focused story than its predecessor. Hana Lee shifts the spotlight to character development, and it pays off. I found myself truly connecting with the cast this time around, especially Sou-Zell, whose arc was powerful and deeply satisfying.

The pacing is tighter, the romance wisely takes a backseat, and yes, there are dinosaur battles, which lived up to the hype. Lee also explores timely themes, such as female power and how history has long vilified women, lending the story emotional weight alongside the action.

A solid, compelling finale that proves Hana Lee knows how to stick the landing.

I was OBSESSED with Road to Ruin when it came out. Devoured it so fast. I was really excited for the sequel which just released on the 10th. Big thanks to Netgalley, S&S/Saga Press, and Hana Lee for the digital ARC!
“Hana Lee’s gritty, queer Mad Max–inspired fantasy duology continues with more high-stakes political intrigue, monsters of all kinds, and a high-speed motorcycle adventure to find a refuge for humanity beyond the wasteland.”

This story has a different feel to the first story, which makes sense since the first book was leading up to the big finale and book two is dealing with the “Now What” moments. I loved getting to learn more about Kadrin and the other characters in Kerina Sol. It felt very real and visceral to me watching Jin try to manage the new realities of her life and trying the best she could with all the trauma that she’s experienced.

Favorite Parts - Any scene that Elie was in, seriously, I WANT more with her. Sou Zell’s character arc gets even better and more complex in this story and it was very well done! Screech!! I adored him, and the part where Jin has consumed desert cactus had be shouting “WHAT NOW” aloud while reading.

Read This If You - Want a queer diverse dystopian polyamorous love story set in the wastes. Are up for a fascinating take on a genetically inherited magic system, or just want to see systems of oppression being destroyed by queer women, supported by their cinnamon roll boyfriend.

A rip roaring conclusion to The Magebike Courier duology

Book Stats:
📖: 464 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Saga Press
Format: Physical ARC
Series: Book 2/2 of The Magebike Courier Duology

Themes:
🏍️ : Saving Humanity
🏍️ : Love at any cost

Representation:
⚡️: Polyamory (F/F/M)
⚡️: Biracial Korean Author

Tropes:
💗: One Bike
💗: Slow Burn romance
💗: Fast paced


🥵: Spice: 🌶️ (closed door)
Potential Triggers: **check authors page/socials for full list.

Short Synopsis:
Picking up right where we left off: The Prince and Princess should be set. They're due to be married and survived the almost apocalypse. Jin is in shambles and talentless. But of course, nothing can stay calm, a nearby Karina Falls to the storms, and Karina Rut is overwhelmed with refugees. With their mana stores depleting Karina must figure out how to save not only their people, but the refugees as well, from utter devastation.

General Thoughts:
This duology ended on such a high note for me. The action packed fight sequences and racing across the wasteland only ramped up in this next installment. The character development continued and was taken places I did not expect which was new and refreshing. While it still held on to the same excellent storytelling and writing style from the previous book, it developed enough that it almost felt like its own story.

I did have issues in the first book with what I felt was a lack of world building, and I do feel like that was resolved within this novel. It was more explained how the world's relied on the mana stores and I felt like I had a better grasp of the political world as well. Some characters that I felt I did not get enough of the first book were definitely more prominent in this instrument as well.

I really enjoyed where the story went. It was high stakes enough to keep it action packed and captivating, while giving just enough slowburn romance to enhance the story without overwhelming it. Do not go into this novel expecting heavy romance the main point is the fantasy.

In conclusion, I found this duology to be unique and fresh. Something different from the norm of fantasy and sci-fi genre bending. I cannot wait till Hana Lee writes something else if this was the debut and it was the stellar.

Disclaimer: I read this book via physical ARC from Saga Press. All opinions are my own. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I didn’t realize it was possible to love this world even more but Hana Lee has succeeded and making this happen in the duology conclusion. Our three MCs, Jin-Lu, Yi-Nereen, and Kadrin get more room to breathe and grow as characters and the world both shrinks and grows so much in this story. There are some really great moments between the three of them as they work to develop their relationships and figure out how to keep their people safe.

I also found myself really loving some side characters from book 1 that I either didn’t like or didn’t pay as much attention to. I would love to see more from this world one day because of how fascinating it is, even with this book ending the duology and this story.

Thank you to @sagapressbooks and @netgalley for the eARC. All thoughts are my own.

as a sequel and a conclusion, i enjoyed this one. each of the characters had their time to shine and Kadrin has become my favorite character out of the whole group. i loved his development and how refreshing it was to have someone with his personality to balance everyone out. they’re all struggling with their own issues that i won’t elaborate on to keep from spoiling, but the pacing was perfect and i still really enjoy the magic and the setting. even though Sou-Zell was testing my patience, i actually ended up appreciating having his perspective on everything around him. Jin and Yi-Nereen were like opposite sides of the same coin, I’m glad they’ve found a way to be happy with the cards they’ve been dealt. my only complaint is that i wanted more of the romance, i thought it’d be a bigger focus but it wasn’t at all really.. either way, i believe the plot was engaging enough to carry this one through. also loved the dinosaur battles and Screech specifically, just a great duology overall.

You can’t beat a book that ends with: "I think I’m happy. It’s been a while, but I’m getting to know what that feels like again."

That final note, carrying an overture to future stories, offers a satisfying resolution while leaving room for more.

Much has been revealed about Jin’s world. And Kadrin, who I am half in love with, has grown into a force to be reckoned with from all that he has learned and experienced in these two books. His Talentlessness, introduced in Book One, has revealed itself to be a defining strength—a door through which his empathy empowers him. When stopped on the street after an attack, a woman calls for help, and Kadrin feels an unexpected relief—he’d rather be using his own two hands than drowning in Council paperwork. That moment solidifies his identity as someone who stands for action over status, revealing the man that both Jin and Yi-Nereen were the first to recognize—and which Lee always hinted at to the reader. This is the man that brought these characters together, allowing each to be their truest self.

Their relationship—strained and uncertain at the end of Road to Ruin—continues evolving in Flight of the Fallen in ways that defy convention. This isn't a simple romance between Jin and Kadrin—it’s a polyamorous bond, complex, shifting, and deeply felt. Jin isn’t just caught between desire and duty; she’s navigating a love that refuses to be confined by rules or tradition. She lives and loves as she always has—true to herself, never confined by convention. The emotional stakes aren’t just about who chooses whom—but about what it means to truly belong to another in a world built on division.

Jin remains the lovable rogue with an uncontainable heart, and Screech? He’s back—with surprises of his own. Banter and longing, angst and action weave together in a narrative that demands you turn the next page.

This story grows out of its predecessor—it’s not a standalone, but a natural evolution. It answers lingering questions, bringing Jin’s relationships into sharper focus. The characters step fully into themselves, making this book even more satisfying than Book One—as great duologies should.

This was too vast a story to fit into a single volume. Lee masterfully crafts a balance between tension and resolution, allowing the journey to unfold with the ending she always had in mind.

I will absolutely be reading more by Hanna Lee—her skill and imagination are as expansive, intriguing, and unpredictable as Jin’s love life.

In Flight of the Fallen the conflict between the talented and the talentless comes to a head. It's a story about power, oppression, and the lies we are told. When we always fear power we don't understand, how can we begin to unravel our past? The exploitation and manipulation paired with the superiority complex is a firecracker waiting to ignite. And the kind of change they need isn't gentle, it's a force of nature and one that will bring down lightning. Flight of the Fallen examines how each of us can play our role as a spark, a tinder, a catalyst.

This was such a good conclusion to the duology! it started off a little slower but it was totally worth it with all that action later in the book! I would definitely recommend this duology, you have the perfect blend of sci fi and fantasy, romance, action, emotion, unique magic system and an animal companion! what more could you need?! Thank you so much Saga Press for this eARC!

An excellent finale to Hana Lee's ROAD TO RUIN magebike courier series, FLIGHT OF THE FALLEN continues the worldbuilding begun by the first and delivers in an explosive ending.

Flight of the Fallen is the second book in the Magebike Courier series by Hana Lee. Jin-Liu is making an attempt to deal with her new normal. Princess Yi-Nereen and Prince Kadrin have been reunited and this should be a point of happiness for her. The loss of her powers has her running from the people that love her and having to make a living while hiding her secret. New extreme storms have the city scrambling. When a group of refugees turn up the city is tested even further.

This series is so good! I love the way the world and magic system has been expanded and developed in this book. Our OG trio of Jin, Reena and Kadrin remain so present in my heart. I love all three of them and how much their relationship together and individually have progressed. Jin especially has grown so much. I really appreciate that there hasn't been a magical cure for her loss of power but Lee still found new ways to show how impressive she is. Eliesen also became a favorite during this book. I will be counting the days until I can get my hands on the next book. I will absolutely be doing an audio reread of the first two books to tide me over.

Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

IT'S HERE!! The follow up to Road to Ruin. While I found the book slow to start, the build up made the pay off that much better. So many things I did not see coming. I think I struggled a bit at first but once I got into the story, I got into it and could not put the book down. If you enjoyed the first part of this duology, you're going to want to grab this one immediately upon publication tomorrow.

Road to Ruin completely stole my heart last year and Flight of the Fallen was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I was minutes away from debasing myself in the inboxes of a publicist begging for an advance copy when my NetGalley approval came in. So major thank you to whoever at Saga Press is responsible for approving these before I embarrassed both of us.
With any highly anticipated sequel, there is always that fear going in about whether it will live up to the highest of pedestals that it has been placed on. And much like Jin, I'm scared of heights.
FEARS WERE UNFOUNDED THOUGH, I LOVED THIS.
Kadrin, my sweet himbo prince, I would die for you. (I would not die for Jin or Reena, they are badasses who can take care of themselves). The characters continue to be amazing and I loved some of the redemption arcs we got. And the setting? Still so fucking cool.

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year and I’m so bummed it didn’t work for me. I ended up Dnfing this one at 50 percent. I feel like everything I loved in book one is missing from this book. I did see some people say that this is going to be a trilogy now instead of a duology in which case it would make sense that the second book feels a little slow. I was just expecting more of the Mad Max style world that felt so unique to this series and I thought it was missing that.

I know a lot of fantasy and scifi readers that would love this so I plan on pitching it to those audiences.

Flight of the Fallen by Hana Lee is compulsively readable! I flew through book one in the Magebike Courier series and could not wait to dive into book two! Flight of the Fallen was just as captivating as Road to Ruin! I don't know what it is about this weather-ravaged world that stuck with me, but I often find myself thinking of this series from time to time. The premise is so unique, and Hana Lee does an excellent job of following through on that promise of a great story! Please pick this up if you're looking for a b0ok that can give you some hope during these weird and awful times we're in right now.

Picking up shortly after Road to Ruin leaves off, Flight of the Fallen is a solid follow-up that delivers more of the mana-fueled adventures found in the first book. I think most fans of the first book will have a good time with this one, but it didn't leave me entirely satisfied. At the close of this duology, I still have a lot of questions.

A solid follow up/end to the duology! This one has a bit of a slower build up than the first in the series, but it pays off with a lot of cool reveals and an action-packed climax. It feels like there's still room for more to be explored in this world, but I finished feeling satisfied with this as the end of the series. (Though looking at the descriptions on NetGalley vs. Goodreads, I'm actually not sure whether it's meant to be a duology or trilogy?)

Also, I love Kadrin and was delighted to get even more of him in this one! And I really enjoyed the complexity of the other side characters, especially Sou-Zell.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

Flight of the Fallen is the second book in the Magebike Courier duology.

This was a great follow up to a book that I picked up on a whim last year. A book characterized as a queer Mad Max inspired fantasy peaked my interest. I thought the world is especially imaginative as well as the characters. No characters felt wasted in the book. They all had important roles towards the outcome of this story.

I found myself not wanting to put this one down and by the ending of the book, I was satisfied with the conclusion.

Hana Lee has a knack for writing strong characters and I actually enjoyed this second installment more than the first. This is worth a read if you like dystopian type fantasy with a love story.

3.5 stars!

Thanks to Netgalley and Saga for providing an eARC in exchange for this honest review.

I originally read Road to Ruin as part of a quest to read all the books allegedly targeted in the Cait Corrain scandal, and it stood out as my favorite of the bunch. This was mostly due to a combination of balanced worldbuilding (neatly straddling the line between originality and homage) and a compelling, polyamorous main dynamic. Thankfully, those two factors are still going strong in Flight of the Fallen, which picks up shortly after the last book and finds our heroes struggling with a refugee crisis, the rise of religious zealotry, and either the loss or presence of their magic “Talents”, depending on the character. After they hear of a not-so-mythical lost city that could be the solution to these problems, they set out to find it while also struggling to balance the political unrest at home.

Overall, this was a worthy Part 2 of the duology. Road to Ruin's weakest point was its messy third act, so I was pleasantly surprised that Flight of the Fallen's third act is neater, and does a decent job earning its ending. Another high point was that this book delved into a lot more worldbuilding, though as a consequence of this there are a lot more characters and not always enough for them to do. Kadrin in particular felt superfluous to a lot of the action, though I enjoyed him as a character. (One WOULD have to be a kind, empathetic, idealistic, and hot as hell prince to somehow bag BOTH of these really cool heroines.) It rankled a little that, for a book whose theme is ostensibly "people born without magical abilities are just as important and worthy as people born with them," the other characters sure did leave him behind a bunch due to his lack of magical talent.

Of course, some of the meatiest arcs and/or most fun qualities are given to the side characters. It was nice to see more of Falka, Sou-Zell, and Eliesen, along with some new ones. And of course there was once again some satisfying dinosaur-related action, which I appreciated.

The ending of Flight of the Fallen isn’t interested in overexplaining itself, and if this series ended up as the next Fourth Wing or whatever, there would be umpteen Youtube video essays called “flight of the fallen ENDING EXPLAINED.” But of course this series is far better written than that one, and takes bigger risks. It's not perfect, but it's highly readable and I’d say most of those risks pay off here. 3.5 stars rounded up!

A great sequel to round out a solid, action-packed dystopian science fantasy duology. Also canon polyamory!!

All four of our POV characters had something interesting and unique to say (even if I wanted to yeet Sou-Zell into the sun on more than one occasion) and brought a totally different perspective to the story at hand. We dealt with grief, disability (sort of? This is kind of complicated… in a world where magic is “normal” and someone loses theirs, that would be a disability in-world?), challenging abusers, PTSD, thrilling fights against dinosaur-like creatures, politics, religious fanaticism, revolution, the refugee crisis, climate change (kind of??), and more.

This felt way more balanced than the first book, with better pacing across our POVs. Hana Lee will be an author to watch