My only complaint about this book is that the characters felt predictable at times. Not always, the format of the book left me slightly confused and jumbled for a reason, but at times the switching from many POVs added additional mystery to this book, which it didn't need in my opinion. On the other hand, this world building is rich and complex and the characters that occupy it are just as complicated and interesting as everything else. Overall, if you enjoyed TLM you definitely need to pick this up. If you haven't read TLM, I would get on that immediately because the story is captivating and thrilling. This book does fall somewhat prey to the 'second book slump' but it definitely is worth the follow through on this series!

I loved this book! The full review will be posted soon at kaitgoodwin.com/books! Thank you very much for this wonderful opportunity to connect books to their readers!

The first book in this series was easily a 5 star read for me. At nearly 500 pages, I almost didn't request it because of the length - but it didn't feel that long when reading it. At 700 pages, I didn't hesitate to request The Devil's Thief because of how engrossing the first book was, but this novel felt like a chore at times, and the series still isn't complete. With the third book (I'm assuming it will be the last?), the series will be considerably longer than Stephen King's uncut version of The Stand.

The dual timeline is compelling, and not at all confusing. I liked seeing how events in the past influence the present, and the changes in some of the characters over that time period. I gasped at a couple of surprising twists, and the world-building remains top notch. Characterization is also strong, and I enjoyed spending time with these characters again.

However - Esta and Harte are disappointing. The majority of their story focuses on the romantic drama/tension between them, and does nothing to advance the plot. Viola and Jianyu have the more interesting plot developments by far, and Julian is a nice addition to the lineup. There's also a good amount of repetition, but this was an ARC, and final editing may take care of that and lower the word count.

Although this book underwhelmed me and didn't move as quickly as the first, I'm curious to see where the next book goes, and want to know the fate of these characters. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I loved this book from beginning to end! Such a storyline with amazing character development! Esta is a badass & I loved how intricate the details were woven.