This one took a little while for me to get into, but once I got into it, I was hooked and couldn’t wait to find the answers.

I connected a bit more with Asya than with the other characters. Mainly because she feels so isolated and out of her depth. She longs for things to be like that were with her sister and doesn’t feel like she has what it takes to be the Firebird. She is looking for answers and for friends, and when she is betrayed, I felt her devastation.

Izaveta also misses her sister and doesn’t feel completely ready to take the throne, but she is a bit harder than Asya. She still misses her and wants to reconnect, but their mother trained her to not need anyone and Izaveta took that to heart.

I like the friendship that was developing between Nikov and Izaveta and I really hope that he remains someone the sisters can trust in the next book (it seems like he will be?).

While I am usually able to predict who the villain is long before the end of the story, I was surprised when I found out who was leading the group after the Firebird.

I am looking forward to the second book in this duology, and am hoping another character returns and redeems themselves in it.

Disclaimer: I received an eARC for review consideration through NetGalley, on behalf of the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.