First of all, thank you so so much to Netgalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for this ARC!!

This book was the most fun I’ve had reading in a long time. I have to say that it was a rollercoaster, but I loved every second of it!!

Axie Oh did everything and more in this book. The plot twists. The characters. The action scenes!! Everything was done so well and her writing, as always, was spot on.

What I was most impressed with in both books was the way she writes action scenes! They flow so nicely and she makes them so visual and cinematic.

Another thing Axie is amazing at: writing believable, swoon worthy couples! I love Ren and Sunho by themselves and I love them together too. Their dynamic is incredible. Ren and Sunho grow so much in this book, separately and together. These characters will stay with me for a long time!

I loved Jaeil in the floating world, but he is most definitely my favorite character now. He has the wittiest comebacks and narrative and his pov chapters are so entertaining! He really had an amazing character arc as well! Jaeil development is expertly crafted and I expected nothing less from miss Axie Oh.

I loved that we got to see Tag and Yurhee again, they are SUCH an iconic duo.

That being said, getting time with each side character was great. The found family trope is alive and well in this universe, and I adore the fact that everyone has a great dynamic with each other. The jokes and banter was everything to me.

Like the first book, I think that it takes a few chapters to really get rolling. After that though, the pacing is much steadier.

The end was satisfying and I liked how she wrapped things up, but if I had one complaint, I would say that the big face off at the end seemed a little rushed and easily resolved. But to be completely honest, there were so many great intense scenes that the easy wrap up didn’t bother me that much! Although a little bit more struggle would’ve been good, I’m not mad at the ending at all.

All in all, the plot was engaging and everything that was revealed and shared about the world building, history, and characters was super enjoyable and well thought out.

Overall, this duology is EVERYTHING I could ask for in a fantasy. The world building, characters, and plot are cohesive and original. The romances are perfect. if you haven’t read the first book, go read it right now!!

Rating 3.5/5 stars

Overall, it was an enjoyable read, for sure. With pleasant characters and a good focus/meaning for the plot. And Axie Oh's prose are incredible. I just unfortunately had a hard time really connecting emotional the the characters and what was happening. I didn't get pulled into the story like I wanted too. And the new romance felt a bit sudden to the point that it was off putting.

I like this one a little bit more than the first one because she seems older and this book and not as new to the world. I’m happy that she also got more development in this book. After reading the first one, I definitely got used to the style of writing and could thoroughly enjoy it. The romance was cute. I would definitely recommend this series as a whole, especially if you’re in the fantasy genre the second book really made me enjoy the series more than the first. In my opinion. It’s definitely an adventure, and it is turned off nicely with the bow.

I think this is a great conclusion! I enjoyed seeing each of these characters grow and their relationships build. I’m glad that we got more of the side characters. I think Jaeil is still my favortie!

This was still giving off Final Fantasy vibes and I loved that. The pacing felt a little off towards the end. Everything wrapped up so quickly that it felt a little anti climatic.

This was a great duology! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

I really enjoy this author's writing! The Demon and the Light was a great conclusion to the first book. I felt there was through closure with all the characters I fell in love with.

i loved this book just as much as i loved the first one! axie oh absolutely nailed this duology and it definitely became one of my favorites this year. my only issue was the pacing, it felt a bit too fast at times and that bothered me a little but other than that i really enjoyed it.

I really enjoyed The Demon and the Light by Axie Oh! The character growth for Sunho, and Wook was easily my favorite part. Watching each of them evolve and come into their own felt incredibly satisfying and gave the story a great deal of heart. Axie Oh nailed the emotional beats and relationships, which made me care about all of them by the end. I would have loved to see more of Jaeil though!

My only gripe is that the final fight scene felt a little rushed. It wrapped up so quickly compared to the emotional build-up leading into it, and I would’ve loved just a bit more tension and detail to match the rest of the book’s pacing.

Still, I absolutely loved this duology and can’t wait to see what Axie Oh writes next! (Can we please get a spinoff in this world?)

“The Demon and the Light” by Axie Oh is an exciting conclusion to The Floating World. Oh writes the most amazing Kpop stories that suck you in. Besides the amazing romance, there is excellent world building, and amazing character development. If you loved The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea or The Floating World, then add this to your TBR.
Thank you to NetGallery and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for an advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely adored reading this book! As the second in this duology, it picked up from where Ren and Suho left off both in their relationship and their positions in the political sphere. While I did have so much fun reading this book and being alongside our beloved characters in their journey, it didn't quite meet my expectations.

For one, similar to the first book, this one had a writing style that read a bit YA. What I mean by this is that every story beat went a bit too fast for my liking and the situations were resolved simply and without terrible push back. The writing felt a bit more tell rather than show, as dialogue quickly moved any situations forward. Sometimes the pacing went slower than I would like, too, and the ending felt very rushed to me.

I do appreciate the POVs of some different characters like Jaeil. I loved seeing more of little Uncle! And overall the story arc itself felt polished and well done. Overall I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loved the first book in the series or any other works from Axie Oh.

This book was such a satisfying conclusion to the duology. At first, I worried that the FMC and MMC would be separated for most of the book and it would drag, but that’s not at all what happened. Their angst was almost all in fairly close proximity, with a push-pull that felt organic and ultimately satisfying. Both Ren and Sunho had beautiful arcs, and Jaeil ended up being a welcome POV as well. I am glad the author took her time with the epilogue. Every thread felt tied up. I’m going to miss these characters.

Separated from the one person she can trust and taking on a mantle she never wanted, Ren struggles to determine which priorities to chase—stabilize a shaky regime, prepare for impending war, or save Sunho from himself.

While I still really enjoyed this duology conclusion, the tone was a little different from book one, leaning more into the dark, the gritty, and the political schemes. Add to that the dragging pace from 60-80% and third-act-breakup vibes, and this was unfortunately not quite it for me. However, I’m wondering if I just wasn’t prepared for the tone shift / shifted focus and would have liked it more if I’d been prepared.

Content Warnings: violence, gore, emotional abuse, references to suicide

I love Axie Oh, and received a Faecrate and fairy loot copy of book 1, absolutely devouring it as soon as I got it. Book 2 is a worthy sequel and is a rare one that doesn’t suffer from bad book 2 syndrome. Super enjoyable!

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan for providing me with a copy for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved The Floating World by Axie Oh and absolutely could not wait to dive into this book and find out how the story would end. While this book was a bit darker and paced a bit faster than the first, it still maintained its optimistic and hopeful tone through its characters.

This book hits the ground running and doesn’t stop until nearly the last page. I actually found myself taking breaks to slow myself down so I wouldn’t finish it all at once (a girl has to sleep sometime). Axie Oh’s greatest strength is that she writes her characters in such a way that I am always intensely invested in them, making emotional moments hit me even harder. I thought I would make it through this particular book without crying, but alas. Book: 1, Me: 0.

While the pacing overall was excellent, even with multiple POV chapters, I did feel that the plot accelerated toward the end and then wrapped up perhaps a bit too quickly and neatly. I wanted to see a bit more turmoil and tension at the conclusion, but that’s a very mild criticism. All in all, I was absolutely thrilled with this adventure.

For a book with very high stakes, both tangible and emotional, it’s incredible how well the book maintains its undercurrent of hope and goodness without making the characters seem naive or shallow. Right now, hope in dark times is a very poignant message and it wasn’t lost on me.

I highly recommend this book and the first, as well. Ghibli mixed with Final Fantasy with STAKES. I am definitely adding this to another one of my favorite books by Axie Oh, as they never seem to miss.

Overall, I enjoyed the conclusion to this duology. The continuation of Ren and Sunho's romance was as sweet as ever. I loved them.

Unfortunately, this one felt a little less polished at this stage than The Floating World ARC did though. The pacing was fairly slow in some places and then the ending felt very rushed. It left me wanting a little more with certain aspects of the story, but very satisfied with others. Still, very enjoyable overall to me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC!

I really enjoyed The Floating World and was excited to receive an eARC for this! While I did have fun reading this, it did unfortunately fall short of my (admittedly high) expectations.

Plot-wise I think this was a satisfying conclusion. Everything wrapped up neatly without loose ends. Unfortunately I felt that the pacing was just way too fast for me. It almost felt like this could have been more fleshed out and been made into a trilogy. Alternatively, there were several plot beats that could have been cut out without hampering the overall story.

We get more of Jaeil's POV in this one, which I do appreciate. He was an interesting character that we only get a small piece of in the first book. We also get more of Little Uncle, and he gets way more character development. There is less of Tag and Yurhee in this one, and there are several characters that don't make an actual appearance other than a brief mention. While I would have liked to see more of Auntie, Tag, and Yurhee, I do think that the other characters benefit from having more page time for character development. I grew way more attached to Ren, Sunhoo, Jaeil, and Little Uncle.

The dialogue unfortunately felt quite juvenile. I understand this is YA, but it felt like a step down from the first book. The writing overall felt a little weaker, with there being way more emphasis on telling instead of showing. Things are more heavily explained when they didn't need to be, making some parts feel a little repetitive.

Overall I did enjoy this book and thought it was a good conclusion to the duology! I would recommend it to anyone who's enjoyed Axie Oh's previous works, or who is looking for a fun fantasy duology.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC provided in exchange for a honest review.

I'm very happy with the result of this sequel, it lived up to all my expectations. The Korean fantasy was the strongest point of this one.

This one made me so grumpy I put off reviewing it for weeks bc I simply Do Not Want To. I loved book one so much that I went into book two fully expecting to love it, and I was not ready to be hurt like I was.

One of the most common downfalls of YA books (in my experience) is when the teenage MC is royalty and the court system doesn’t work at all. Ren had the most confusing back and forth between “I’m the celestial maiden, I can do whatever I want” and “I have no power, the council does whatever they want behind my back” and there was no explanation. She would march into a council meeting and try to boss them around, they would say no, she would go “BuT iM tHe CeLeStiAl mAiDeN!1!1” and I would die from secondhand embarrassment. There was no actual political structure that made any sense. I was so confused the whole time.

Something I really enjoy about Axie Oh’s writing is her ability to write friendships. WHERE WAS THAT. Where did my friendships go. Ren and Little Uncle’s friendship was so meaningful in the last book, and in this one he completely moves on for an instalove romance. Like bestie no. That’s not what we’re here for. Even Ren and Sunho’s relationship felt so much shallower than book one.

Bottom line, I put off writing this review for too long and the details are slipping, but I liked book one so much that this one feeling like a generic cliche tropey YA hurt me

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a great finish to a sweet duology. I liked the character development. After Sunho fully transformed into a Demon, Ren must do whatever it takes to save him. Together each of them must overcome their own fears in order to save their home.

WHAT I LIKED:
-Ren and Sunho’s growth both individually and together
-the pacing, it wasn’t super fast paced but it wasn’t slow so it was good

WHAT I DIDNT LIKE:
-the whole back from the dead thing that was not my fav twist
-the romance between some of the side characters felt too forced

So happy I got an arc right after my fairyloot copy of The Floating World arrived!

I usually struggle with duologies. I want to like them, but I often feel like I don't get enough time with the characters and tend to like longer books.

BUT, I found that a duology was a perfect length for this story that Axie Oh wanted to share for this series. I absolutely loved The Floating World, and was so excited to jump back into this world. Ren and Junho are so sweet and lovable, and their dynamic when they are together is precious. I found the story to be fast-paced, picking up where The Floating World left off and constantly on the move. While I usually prefer books that are medium-paced, I felt that this was appropriate for where we were in the story that Axie Oh was trying to tell. There were moments that made me extremely frustrated (I tend to hate it when characters don't communicate), moments that made me ache, and moments that made me laugh out loud. There was a plot twist that I saw coming, but instead of feeling exasperated with already knowing that it would unfold, I just felt sadness because Oh did a wonderful job of developing the characters and making me fall in love with them.

It is bittersweet that the story is over. How the main story ended was satisfying, but man do I want to spend more time with Ren and Junho. Thanks to my experiences with this series and TGWFBTS, Axie Oh is now an instaread author for me.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and read it very quickly. I think Ren's journey in embracing her powers is done nicely, and I also loved how their relationship progresses. My only complaints is that I actually think this book might've benefitted by being longer, as it feels some parts were rushed in comparison to the first book.

Ren and Sunho don't exactly progress much in their relationship, but honestly it felt fine, because by the end of the first book, it felt like they were already a couple, just no name tied to it just yet. Their arc focused more on self acceptance and loving the other as they are.

Wish we had a bit more of the politics, I think it would've been so interesting to see Ren as queen outside of the conflict of the book.

Solid sequel and conclusion for the book, just wished we'd get to see a bit more from this world.