Wooooow, I loved the first book in this series but this sequel definitely gets a lot darker.
Ion is such a great, well rounded character and I love following his story. If there's anything you can count on Ion doing, it's being good and making good decisions. Though, like any flawed character, he has his moments of weakness and messes up.
In this sequel, Ion and the other Guardians go to Illyria, home of the Gods, so that Othum can help settle the problem of there being no "Hand of the Moon". They decide to host a competition to choose someone to fit it. Ion and Lillian, the blood Guardian, are also chosen to participate.
Ion's sister, Oceanus, is of course incredibly jealous. I didn't understand her jealousy and her actions toward Ion seemed very exaggerated and childish which is out of her character on top of her being the elder sibling. Other than a few scenes, she's not around at all, which I think is pretty sad because this could be a kick-ass sibling oriented story.
There's something significant missing in this book though, there's not a lot of connection even though there are a LOT of characters. I really wish I knew what was going on with Vasheer. I was about to ask if he had a God complex but he is a god.. He seems to be your typical, one-faced villain and there's no real depth behind it, I never felt any real danger from him or the other contenders in the competition.
I really, really loved the depth into Ion's background/history though and his past lives. I like that he's having real problems to face with his powers and control. I hope that he's able to best anyone who doubts him in the future of the series.
I'd definitely recommend picking up these books if you're into action and an easy to get along with main character. Ion is super cool, has super cool powers and is incredibly adaptive and brilliant.