Just like the first book, it's a very interesting and compelling read. I enjoyed that the book revealed more of the ancient world and spent more time exploring Micah's gender identity and interest in Drystan.

However, the plot wasn't quite as engaging as the first book. Much of the plot centers around Micah trying to help Jasper Maske win a magic contest, but Maske is a very underdeveloped character. Since you never really get a sense of why he's suddenly such a good friend of Micah, it's hard to care about whether he defeats some random rival or not.