This…this was not the lesbian dark academia that everyone touted it to be. I wanted secret societies, mysterious blood rites, dark academia type stuff with lesbians. This…whew. It was very very good. I still have questions and a few things weren’t very clear, but it was a crazy ride reading this book. Also, this book is far more believable if you imagine college age women instead of high schoolers.
I consumed this book in one sitting! I read Set Fire to the Gods when it came out, so I was nervous starting this book thinking id forgotten everything. But thankfully the authors did a good job of making this easy to follow despite the time between books! This book was really good and I enjoyed it, it was very fast- paced and a fun read.
What I liked: fast paced, romance, the magic system/power usage, each god/dess felt unique
What I didn’t like: spoilers from this point on! I felt like some of the events in this book were added for dramatic effect/forward the plot rather than happening organically. Madoc being enslaved by Anathrasa being a big one. The zombie-fication was a fine plot point, but Madoc becoming one was just sooo unnecessary in my opinion. What I HATED most was freaking Ash losing all her powers!! Are you serious??? STOP MAKING THE POWERFUL FEMALE LOSE ALL HER POWERS AT THE END!!! Ash had this entire meltdown in book one about losing her power, it nearly killed her, etc., and in this book she loses it and shes like “yeah ill be alright :)” NO. It DOESNT MAKE SENSE. Then they gave her a FIREPOWERED DAUGHTER? How f-d up is that? First throne of glass, then a court of silver flames, ((maybe)) supergirl, now ash? Is no woman safe? Anyways, for these reasons this book gets a 3.75 instead of 4.5.
Moderate: Animal death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Minor: Sexual violence and Torture
it is implied that while madoc was enslaved, he had sex/performed sexual acts with aera but not confirmed. It is also briefly mentioned that Elias was brutally tortured while in prison.
This book is absolutely amazing! I loved everything about this book! I feel like I could personally relate to Octavia and her society- I would LOVE to be a part of a society where the only thing is science, constantly testing each other and studying a new planet (apart of course from the racism, manifest destiny, and evil that happens). EVERYONE should read this book, it is absolutely amazing! A slow burn, but not too slow.