I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

With the unforgettable events of the Quickening behind them and the Ascension Year underway, all bets are off. Katharine, once the weak and feeble sister, is stronger than ever before. Arsinoe, after discovering the truth about her powers, must figure out how to make her secret talent work in her favor without anyone finding out. And Mirabella, once thought to be the strongest sister of all and the certain Queen Crowned, faces attacks like never before—ones that put those around her in danger she can’t seem to prevent.

Short and Sweet

After the events that took place during the Quickening the Ascension year is in progress and things have changed. Katharine is different after returning to the manor, Mirabella doesn’t seem to be the front runner anymore, and Arsinoe is trying to figure out what to do with her new found skill. The question is which sister will prevail and take the crown and the throne?

Characters

Mirabella: The elemental queen, in the last book she was thought to be the strongest of the sisters but now that seems to be uncertain. Mirabella tries to see the good in her sisters and likes to think about memories from when they were younger, but this makes her apprehensive about the fact that she has to kill them.

Arsinoe: Our naturalist queen, we find out in the last book that she’s actually a poisoner which makes sense as to why her naturalist gift never seemed to show. Now Arsinoe is trying to figure out how this new skill works and how to use it in her advantage.

Katharine: The poisoner queen, oh how things have changed with Katharine. Katharine was one of the weaker queens but after climbing her way out of The Breccia Domain she’s back with a vengeance and the people on the island now call her, ‘the undead queen’.

Romance

Arsinoe and Billy: I love these two so much! Arsinoe still won’t admit how she feels about him to his face but Billy doesn’t give up easily. He was sent away to Rolanth to be Mirabella’s taster but he was always thinking about Arsinoe. These two cared about each other and it was my favorite romance of the book.

Katharine and Nicolas: Nicolas was one of Katharine’s suitors and one she liked. I honestly think Katharine only got with Nicolas to get back at Pietyr.

Jules and Joseph: After the events of the last book Jules is still trying to find a way to forgive Joseph. Does she trust him? No. Does he still try to make an effort? Yes. Did I think these two should be together? No. Maybe in the first book, but after what he did she just couldn’t trust him I like the fact that she tried though. “So you trust me?” She turns and looks squarely into his handsome, storm-blue eyes. “Not one bit.”

Quotes

~ “This is how it is,” Arsinoe whispers. “Someone’s going to die.”

~ “I am only afraid of what I must do.”

~ “Neither of my sisters will be returning to the island. The crown and the throne are mine.”

My Thoughts

~ Arsinoe, may have a new skill as a poisoner but she knows that she has to keep this a secret and use it to her advantage at some point. For now she still uses low magic to make a bond with her bear familiar.

~ Jules is one of my favorite characters that isn’t one of the queens. She’s the best and I like her better than Bree and Elizabeth. Jules will go to the end of the Earth to try to keep Arsinoe safe. She considers herself to be Arsinoe’s guardian and its like its her full time job. I love how she looks after Arsinoe and doesn’t treat it like a ob she does it because she genuinely loves her.

~ Jules also learns that she has a second gift, she’s legion cursed which occurs when you have two gifts, shes a naturalist of course and she has the war gift. She’s just learning how to use the war gift and is determined to use it to keep the ones she loves safe.

~ Mirabella is trying to wrap her head around the things that occurred during the quickening. She knows that she has to kill her sisters before they kill her. She plans on starting with Arsinoe for sending her bear after her and then Katharine.

~ Katharine is very determined to kill her sisters. A lot has changed with her but I guess thats what happens when you ‘come back from the dead.’ She was eating a lot of poison so much so that she ends up becoming poison.

~ The events of the quickening set a lot of events into motion in this book.

~ I loved Mirabella and Arsinoe in this book. Mirabella doesn’t want to kill her sisters and Arsinoe knows that she may not stand a chance. I liked Katharine in the last book because she seemed sweet but she was blood thirsty and it was a little overwhelming.

Overall

Can the sequel be better than the first book? Yes and this series is the proof! It only seems to get better and I can’t wait until the third book is released. What’ll happen next with these girls, is what I need to know! So much happened in this book and I’m ready to find out whats going to happen. Love this series and I think its a MUST READ pick up the first two books now!