Best in the series so far for me.
When I first started reading and a got a few chapters in but didn’t get any of the long anticipated answers to Nerakas secrets I was a little skeptical that my expectations were too high for this book.
However I did enjoy the build up to jax, Hansa, Harper and caspian saving Blaze and caia from Shaytans palace within the first half of the book.
From this narrative my favourite part was Zane helping the team out. Nearly getting caught by one of his brothers thus pretending the team had blindsided him. I’m certainly keen to see where his relationship with Fiona ends up as we learn more about his rebellion against his father/family and the respect he seems to have from his people.
I enjoyed the introduction to his mother who is clearly close to him. He seemed protective of her and the other newer women to shaytans harem. He was also opposed to shaytans treatment of them. I was intrigued to know more about a woman named Luella. Zane spoke of her with saddness.
Another great moment was Darius (one of the 5 lords and rewas father who was killed in the last books fire) being seen alive and well, in cahoots with Shaytan.
The real juicy stuff started when they all escape the palace and make their way to the western plains to find the imen tribes. The tribes however find them first, headed at this point in time by Vesta ( the water fae that helped them in a previous book against daemons in the valley oh the screams. She is happy to help them but not so keen on having caspian around (he is therefore chained and locked up).
It is back at the imen camp that we learn the whole truth of nerakas dirty secrets.
1) the exiled maras also consume souls
2)they have consumed so many that rewa specifically went to recruits the help of gasp in order to breed other supernaturals to consume
3) everyone has been acting a part since gasp arrived
4) caspian knows everything but took a blood oath (because the other lords didn’t trust him, they are even responsible for the death of his family who didn’t support what they were doing) which was implemented on him by a swamp witch and means if he talks about their secrets he starts to burn and thus could die
5)the swamp witch was part of the original delegation , none of which ever returned to their homes. Thus she is somewhere on the island and being used for the joint use of daemons and exiled maras
6) it is the swamp witch that is disrupting tellius and not allowing the team return passage home
It was very moving reading Harper’s struggles, firstly with her uncertainty surrounding Caspian, then her anger at him for knowing only to then try and fathom that he really couldn’t say anything but had risked himself anyway by trying to get her answers without hurting himself. Their connection, other than jax and Hansa is the strongest. I’m glad they have opened up to each other now.
Whilst the revelations are coming out in the western plains the other side of the team are experiencing the same information but with their own eyes. Avril and heron actually see a nurse consuming an imen soul. Then Scarlett, Patrick, Fiona and Caia and blaze (who’d flown back with the news of Darius) called a meeting with the lords to see if any of them gave away that they knew about Darius being alive and with the daemons. At first the lords put on another good performance, however Fiona notices that Emilian refers to the leader of the daemons as shaytan, a piece of information the team had not shared with them. From here, the lords reveal the truth. Their demeanours turning cold and dark. Rewa laughing that she had them all fooled etc. As more information is given the lords summon more and more. Correction officers to gather around the team, thus started a brawl where rewa mind bends blaze into strangling Caia.
During the brawl we are reintroduced to both Arrah and Cadmus who give the team a message to get away from the city and find the western plains. Vesta then has people waiting to guide them back to the others where they all reunite and formulate a plan to get to the swamp witch and take the exiled maras down, once and for all (this time I believe the maras aren’t getting another chance)
For me, this was so gripping and so excited I did come down a little when reading dereks last chapter on expanding the shade etc however in the days following it I found that I became very nostalgic and can not wait to see more of the originals joining the team on neraka. We are definitely nearing this plot as draven found out that there was no record of the delegates ever returning from neraka as rewa told them. A few more pieces of the puzzle of the whole of gasp will be in full charge....I hope. I’m keen for them not to drag this part of the story line out now. I actually sit shouting at the book for the people of the shade to be smarter haha
Overall, a much more intense read with both action and romance as well as a super strong Plot reveal. I’m excited to see what’s to come next.