The Second Son by Adriene Tooley is the second and final installment in the Betrayal Prophecies duology. Having already adored book one I was very excited going into this one and that excitement was well rewarded.

What this story did well

- All loose ends from book one as well as new arcs from this installment are well tied up by the conclusion.
-The sapphic romance was just perfect.
-Great pacing
-Excellent handling of character dynamics and dialogue.

* This story is a direct sequel and will be best enjoyed by those who have already read The Third Daughter by Adrienne Tooley.

Overall a great conclusion to The Betrayal Prophecies duology. Such an intense read but what a way to finish the series off. I do feel I need to go back and reread both of these books. I was a bit lost because I didn't fully remember the first book. Still liked how everything played out in this one. Petition to have sequels to books post recaps in them.

I didn’t think the second could be better than the first but here we are. I loved the world building and the conclusion to the first.

I absolutely loved this sequel/conclusion to The Third Daughter! The Second Son is just as fast-paced and answered all the questions I had at the end of the first book.

First and foremost, this story explores the dangers of toxic masculinity. Those feelings of unworthiness, insecurity, and self-doubt that boys and men are told not to show, so instead they turn them inward, left to fester into something cruel and full of darkness. I appreciated the addition of Tal’s point of view, allowing for better understanding of his thoughts and actions.

I loved watching Sabine’s and Elodie’s relationship grow as they both grappled with the challenges of their new roles and took on the common threat of the Secons Son. The Warnou and Anders siblings play a larger role in this story, which was a complaint I had in the first book. Although there’s a couple loose ends not tied up at the end, I thought the conclusion was perfect. In all the lightness and darkness, sadness and rage, goodness and indifference, “all any of us can do is survive, one day at a time.”

If you’re looking for fantasy with LGBTQIA+ representation and highly creative religious, magical, and political systems, look no further than the Betrayal Prophesies duology!

Thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers/Christy Ottaviano Books for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second and final book in the Betrayal Prophecies duology.

The first book, The Third Daughter, was a quick read that explored emotions, duty, family, and power, The Second Son continued with the same themes, but raised the stakes. The sapphic romance between two very powerful, yet often equally as powerless young women continued to develop, as they both faced threats and pushback that put their lives in jeopardy. Lots of juicy secrets, betrayal, deities, and power plays at work here.

The Second Son's power is an allegory for men who were never allowed to feel or show their emotions, and the damage that can do. I think this is a great YA book to exhibit a lot of lessons and open the eyes of readers to things they may not have realized, understood, or thought about before. It may be a little on the nose for older readers.
This was a satisfying conclusion and an enjoyable read!

Plagued by self-doubt, The Second Son is about what we do with power. Now that we have a slice of power, how do we reconcile these new abilities? Because power inspires envy and can we hold onto our power when it's being threatened from all sides? How can we become a good leader? Is it in the loyalty we demand or the love we foster? At the same time, The Second Son is about the allure of feeling seen. And what that recognition or that illusion will inspire in us.

I didn't expect to like this more than its predecessor, but, I gotta say, my expectations were completely blown out of the water.

The worldbuilding elements I thought were lacking in The Third Daughter was fully answered here. The religion of the Second Son was explored in depth, of its sinister nature of bringing out anger and resentment out of its followers (primarily men) and how the cult spread like wild fire once Sabine was revealed to be the New Maiden in order to assassinate her (metaphorically and literally) and the church. I really liked how it was a representation of toxic masculinity, despite it being a bit on the nose (Though what may be obvious to me could be eye-opening for this book's teen demographic, so I completely don't fault it on that). The Second Son's origins being mostly because he was mistreated by the men around him, which later he turned to resenting the Third Daughter for being allowed to freely express what he could not, was so interesting. It made quite a dynamic between Sabine and Tal while making excellent conflict for the story.

Speaking of conflict, there is definitely so much more stakes than TTD. With the rise of the Second Son cult, they're an ongoing threat to both Elodie and Sabine in very significant ways, with the Son setting their neighbors on Velle for war and luring away the New Maiden's believers. It made me more invested into the girls and the struggles they were forced to face throughout the story, as well as giving both girls rounded characters and development.

Despite this being the indefinite finale, I still had two questions that the story didn't fully address by its end.

1. Where is Chaplain René, and why the hell wasn't he arrested? He popped up to Elodie during the 4th to last chapter, revealed he killed her mom (I knew I was right to suspect foul play), unleashed the guy who's been threatening/harassing her all throughout the story, and just left, never to be seen again. He literally admitted to killing the former queen just to install his daughter on the throne, but nowhere is it mentioned in Elodie's last chapter that he was arrested or anything. I think Tooley forgot to include that part, but I don't know if there's enough time between now and when the final copies release to fix that.

2. Why has Tal not been arrested? I understand that he was being controlled by a magical deity, and Sabine had it in her heart to forgive him and all, but that doesn't really excuse him conspiring to destroy the whole kingdom. Sure, he's lost and sad in the aftermath, but I don't believe he was punished enough after all he did throughout this book.

Despite that, I still think this was a mass improvement, and that this is still a really good duology. The exploration of religion, depression, toxic masculinity, and all the themes between those were still portrayed in a emotionally impactful way. I just really enjoy Tooley's works, and I will eagerly be awaiting whatever she may have next.