Ren is now acknowledged as the heir to the Floating World. Sunho has transformed fully into the demon. The threat to their world in the form of a vengeful scientist is only growing as he allies with the Volmara to the North, and only they can stop him. But that means accepting the past neither of them wanted and engaging in a war that might overtake everything and everyone they love.

When I say I devoured this book, it is not an understatement. After the cliffhanger of “The Floating World” I sat here with my fingers crossed, begging that my ARC request for “The Demon and the Light” would be approved and lo and behold it was! Thankfully, I received the news after clocking out, because I then proceeded to dedicate the rest of my evening exclusively to this story.

My biggest point of comparison for this conclusion is The Lunar Chronicles, and I mean that as a compliment. The sense of fate and grandiosity for a “normal” girl surrounded by a rag-tag group of friends to help take down a big bad. Still, there were plenty of surprises and plot twists to go around, not to mention make this its own unique story, even if the tropes are there.

There were a handful of small plot lines that I wish had been addressed at the end, but truly they are minute and had nothing to do with our main characters.

Unlike Axie's previous books, this duology has three main character POVs, and that choice shines in this story, especially with Jaeil. We got snippets of his perspective last time, but this time, it rounds out the voices needed to tell the whole story. Not to mention it allows for more team-ups of unlikely characters, as well as introductions to past characters through new lenses. The snippets of conversation and “getting-to-know-yous” are funny and squeeze your heart as the various characters you’ve come to love interact with each other. In essence, it was wonderful.

There’s only three ways that sequels go: significantly worse than the first, disappointing compared to the first, or better than the first. Happily, “The Demon and the Light” is in the latter category. It gives us heartbreak, laughter, action, and hope. With the world and its laws set in place, Axie Oh proceeds to give us a heart pounding wrap up to Ren and Sunho’s story.

Thank you Feiwel and Friends for the ARC!