Never in my entire life have I ever hated reading a book so much that I genuinely could not put down. I dont like the characters, the plot is weird and half baked, but I can't stop reading it. It's like being stuck watching a car crash when you so badly want to look away. If you really enjoyed this book and love the series, I encourage you to stop reading this review now so you might preserve some of your sanity.

Jude is actually infuriating. She selfish and impulsive and generally annoying. How does someone go from being a scheming mastermind to being so blind she doesn't see the countless betrayals happening right in front of her. With all these years of being trained by Madoc and living in Faerie you'd think she would have learned not to trust people so easily. You'd think a spy would know not to spout off her plans to anyone who would listen. She is the definition of not thinking about the consequences of her actions. One of the only redeeming qualities of this book was Cardans slight character development. I really enjoyed seeing him acting more mature and showing interest in being king and not just being a massive jerk to everyone he meets. It was very refreshing seeing Jude get a taste of her own medicine.

I honestly think i liked the writing in this book less than the first. The big plot twist that would have gotten me was spoiled withing the first few chapters, so by the time it happened I had seen it coming from a mile away and wasn't even shocked. There was also a huge opportunity to really put Judes skills to the test with Balekin but that was over so fast a bearly got to enjoy it. Im beginning to think that the only reason i was able to get into this book so much is because of the training and special skills Jude has. The fight scenes and displays of her skills were extremely entertaining once you get past how incredibly unrealistic they are. But hey, this is a fantasy novel after all. Im all for a good romance but Im not sure you could really call Jude and Cardans relationship that. I know this is a wildly unpopular  opinion but I found it extremely forced and they both deserve better. Hopefully the last book will change my opinion on this.

A part of me really wanted to give this book a much lower rating but I give this book 4 stars. Not because its good, but because I swear it put some kind of spell on me to make me keep reading it and that is pretty impressive. Will I be reading the next book? Absolutely. Will I like it? Probably not.

I am still holding on to a fraction of hope that the last book in this series will answer all of my questions and make me regret every bad thing I've ever said about this book but im starting to think it is pretty unlikely.