The middle books in fantasy trilogies have a tendency to be my least favourite, and I suspect (without having read book three) that this is the case here. The slow set-up I enjoyed so much (with the brothers undergoing training) is now over with; while the hopefully satisfying final events are yet to come. It was a decent, four star read - but coming close on the heels of the five star first book I so adored, it felt distinctly disappointing. 

Once again the book follows predominantly the points of view of the three royal siblings. Adare is much more centre stage than she was previously and unfortunately I didn't find this to be a good thing as I both actively disliked her and also often found myself wanting her chapters to be over to get back to her brothers. Kaden I adored as much as ever but his storyline (especially in the second half of the book) was honestly a little underwhelming. Valyn and his Wing had most of the most interesting events happen to them. 

Book one certainly featured brutality but it's taken up a few levels here, although it's also less focused on the main characters. A darker tone is also reflected in the actions of the characters, who on a number of occasions do (or do not prevent) fairly horrible things, believing them to be necessary. 

It was certainly still gripping and fast paced, and I didn't want to put the book down. There were some intriguing new elements and reveals that make me pleased I don't have to wait before moving on to book three.