My summary: Sophie Renast is half-human and half-Vanir, and with assistance of the Ophion human rebel group, breaks her brother, Emile, and last surviving member of her family out of a death camp he’s been in for three years. Sophie is a Thunderbird and has the ability to command any kind of energy, which means the Asteri have found and killed them all. But Sophie and Emile’s escape goes wrong. Bryce Quinlan, newly revealed as the Starborn Princess, and Hunt Athalar, recently released from slavery as the Shadow of Death under the Archangels, are soon pulled into the search for Sophie and Emile, and also into the human rebellion against the Asteri. Assisting the rebellion equals certain torture or death at the hands of the Asteri, a fate Hunt barely survived once. But Bryce is committed after finding ties to Danika and dares to dream of Midgard being free of the Asteri control one day. 

My thoughts: Incredible. Yes, this book is very long, but, wow, what a story Sarah J. Maas weaves through it. I love Bryce and her intrinsic nature to do what is right, no matter the cost to herself. And her relationship with Hunt—swoon—it is so primal and, just, right. I love the other characters that we learn more about through this book too. And although I knew there is crossover between this series and the A Court of Thorns and Roses series, I was somehow not at all prepared for it. I’m so excited to start the next in the series now to see how Bryce’s story continues to unfold. It is really fantasy heavy and I still have a bit of a hard time keeping it all straight, but the whole thing is just so mesmerizing that I’m again blown away by Sarah J. Maas’s ability to write such complex storylines with such depth to each character—and then tie it into seemingly unrelated worlds of hers.