Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc. I was so excited to see it after reading “Odin’s Child” earlier this year.

I enjoyed the book and the direction it took. At times, it was a little slow for me. There was plenty of interesting things happening but not what I was hoping would happen. The ending left me sad but interested. I can’t wait for the next book. This part of the review will contain spoilers. I was dying for Hirka and Rime to end up back together. It took so long in this book. I got so nervous any time they would get tempted by something else. It broke my heart to have them apart. And then, Rime comes.! Yay.! But he barely gets any time with Hirka before she’s disappointed in him and he’s sent back to Ym. *cue more heartbreak* I know their relationship is a little toxic. They’ll do basically anything for each other, even becoming the worst versions of themselves. But I love it, and I love them. I so hope they get more time in the third book, although Hirka is going to another world, yet again.

For the first few chapters of The Rot, I struggled to adjust to the change from the pure fantasy world of Ym in book one to skipping back and forth between Ym and our world in book two. However, once I settled into the new style, I became engrossed in the story again and came to appreciate the new characters. The action moved along at a good pace, which kept me turning the pages, and I was intrigued by the direction the story took as new information was revealed. The end of this book left me keen to find out how things would conclude in the final volume. Recommended for fantasy fans, but you will definitely need to have read book one first to follow what is going on. Four stars from me.

Our last adventure with Hirka and Rime ended with Hirka entering the raven rings and going off into another world in search of our parents. Pettersen does a great job of picking right back up in this sequel. Hirka is in our modern-day human world, and it was interesting to see her interacting with modern things. I will say that it was somewhat jarring to transition from Ym to our world during the chapters with Rime, and that would interrupt my reading process. This was needed, but it threw me off. Additionally, we’re to believe Hirka doesn’t understand English, but that doesn't show well.
While the plot did have moments of lag that made me set the book down and struggle to pick it back up, this was still a solid continuation. I really liked the way the beak was used again, and how Hirka and Rime were used. It’s hard to review this without spoiling what happens. Just know, I’m excited for the next book in this series to be translated!

I really enjoyed book 1 but this one surpassed my expectations. A really great continuation, the fantastic characters and new found friendships are vividly brought to life. I loved that it takes place in our world and I was super excited about the parts in Stockholm. Can't wait for book 2.