In this sequel to The Archived, summer is over, and it's back to school (ew, am I right?). Hyde School has some serious dark academia vibes, though, so although I would never ever return to high school, this particular posh ambience makes it a bit more enticing. In general, the tone of this story is darker than its predecessor. The world Schwab has built is a bit spooky at baseline, but this one dialed it up to an 11. With Mackenzie not trusting her own thoughts, running from her own dreams, and fighting the insistent, lurking instinct that something is very, very wrong with some local missing persons cases, things are spinning drastically out of control. To be honest, I became a bit stressed.

I still love the soundly 2000s vibes of this series, but this plot did read a bit like a CW show. For example, we have the trope of the cool, unpopular/alternative, gorgeous, new girl who is so beguiling as to immediately turn the heads of several boys and be adopted by the edgiest clique. This is how we somehow end up in a different love triangle from the first book. Mackenzie doesn't even want to date anyone with all the chaotic trauma she's carrying around. She's just so effortlessly charming as to lure two witless boys in, anyway. To be clear, that's not her fault in the slightest. It's just a trope that irritates me in teen dramas since I haven't noticed it to have any basis in teen realities. No one's that badass in high school or possibly ever.

Ultimately, this book was fine, just not a standout. If love triangles and witty perfect cool (but not popular, ok?? this is different and edgy!) characters don't upset you, then I think you will be better poised to appreciate Schwab's always enthralling writing and the mysteries she spins here.