Actual Rating 2.5 This is the second book in The Wrath and the Dawn duology, and the events pick up where the first book left off. 
 I liked this book however I don't feel like the two books in this duology really went together or maybe just the pacing of the events through the two books was off. Looking back at my review for The Wrath and the Dawn I think that a lot of my feelings about that book are the same feelings I have about this one. I enjoy Ahdieh writing and the setting, but where the first book had hints of magic this book had it in droves but I didn't feel like it was fleshed out well. I also don't think that the characters that were introduced regarding this world's magic were flushed out well. I really enjoyed Shazi and Kahlid's love story but I felt like the other couplings weren't deep enough to make a significant impact. I thought the climax of this book was rushed. I also didn't feel like the deaths made a significant impact. I realize I've said a lot of negative things about this book but I did enjoy it, it felt really Disney at times and it didn't make me walk away and think deeply, but it was enjoyable. 
 (view spoiler)[ I wasn't crazy about how much Tariq was in this book, and this whole war thing. I felt like so much of that was set up in this book that I just didn't really care. I was here for Shazi and Kahlid but Tariq's temper tantrums were so obnoxious. I liked Irsa and Rahim but when he died I didn't really care, I didn't feel like it was developed enough to really give the emotional punch it was clearly trying to land. As for the Despina thing, sigh, it really felt like filler but really like the I-was-a-spy-but-not-really thing was exhausting. I enjoyed the sister relationships that we didn't see in Wrath and the Dawn (hide spoiler)]