Actual rating: 2.5 stars
I read the first book in the series in 2019. I had requested this book from Netgalley years ago (maybe 3 or 4?) not realizing it was the second book in a series, but knowing I loved Jennifer Estep's Mythos Academy series and her Elemental Assassin series. I stated in my review of the first book that had I not needed to review this book, I wouldn't continue the series. I like that there is a bit of recap to the stories that Estep writes because that gives a bit of context if it's been a while since you've read books in the series. However, there is also a lot of repetition and the writing seems juvenile because of it. If I can ever pull up my notes and highlights, I could tell you that Lila's thievery and the book title of the first book is repeated throughout the book too many times to count. I felt that the who-dun-it part of this story was way too obvious and I don't really like when it's like that. I don't like being able to put all the pieces together early on in the book and then the characters are so insanely blind to the glaringly obvious that you just want to shake them. There are interesting parts of this world and the characters, so I think this is a good light fantasy read, but it's lacking in many ways too and I don't recommend it if you are wanting to find something with substance.

This is a okay story probably best suited for young adults who haven’t read the adult Elemental Assassins series and like action packed urban fantasy series will probably enjoy this one. Those of us who have read the Elemental Assassin series will probably not like it since it is so close to that series. I will not be continuing with this series.

An excellent sequel to Cold Burn of Magic. A thrilling adventure that kept you gripped until the end.