Pages: 416
Expected publication Date: I thought that this was February 2020, but Goodreads is saying September 2020...
Genre: YA Fantasy
*Thank you Netgalley/St. Martin's Press for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review*
This is a great continuation of Gilded Wolves. The characters are struggling with the end of the 1st novel and head from Paris to snowy Russia to find an artifact that is rumoured to give the power of the Gods to the holders. I don't want to give too much away, since it is a sequel.
To be entirely honest, I hated the first one and was just frustrated with it. I felt like it was generic, the characters were forgettable, a rip off of Six of Crows and the characters talked like they were smart for the sake of being smart.
But since I had the e-Arc and had requested it before reading Gilded Wolves (it was really anticipated for me) I knew I was going to give it a go. I'm also a completionist and feel a need to finish series. This series took all my complaints, fixed them in a satisfying way and gave me a fantastic story though. The characters didn't feel as generic and the writing was a lot better. We didn't get long segments of characters talking smart for the sake of it, they actually just felt like they were supposed to be that way as they figured it out. I had way more fun reading this book, and I read it a lot quicker than the first novel. The travel and the heist were perfect for me. The darker tone, the character arches. Honestly, I just really loved this novel.
This book is a lot like The Wicked King to me, in that the first is forgettable but still totally worth reading to get to the second book that is way better than the original. The writing was also the perfect amount of purple for me.
4/5 stars.
If you like YA Fantasy and heist novels I really recommend this. Even if you didn't like the first or decided not to read it because of what you heard about it, give it a try. This novel is definitely worth the read. It's perfect for fans of Six of Crows or if you want to read a YA version of The Lies of Locke Lamora.