a big bang of a second book! everything ratchets up a notch in this one.

pros:
- very gripping! I read this in two halves - a library copy in Newcastle and an ebook borrowed from my friend in Birmingham - and I was hooked on the book throughout. 
- the pacing felt so much better than book 1, which seemed to tumble from one event to another. this one swelled in tension all the way through, steadily building to the finale,

the scrimmage, Paige's win and the big reveal of Jaxon's betrayal.

- the mystery was gripping in itself, as Paige tried to figure out

who killed Hector, the role of Cutmouth and Ivy, who the Rag and Bone man is and what his role is, the deceit of the Abess, etc. All of these steadily revealed themselves in a way that felt both natural and compelling.

- Shannon's writing felt just as good, if not better, the settings painted vividly and the tension set very well.

The fight at the scrimmage was really well written, better than fight scenes in book 1 I think, both clear and gripping.

- I liked that Warden gave us some more background context when it came to his history and the history of how the Rephaim got involved with human affairs.

cons:
- again, I did get muddled with the sheer amount of terms, worldbuilding and characters. I forgot the names of the voyants who made it out of the penal colony and

I dont really remember who the Wicked lady was, except with how she appeared near the end as a puppet for the abbess and rag and bone man.

I lost track of Paige's powers and the others' a bit too.
- I felt that the characters relationships definitely took a massive step back in this one, which was primarily about Paige figuring stuff out and coming into her power.

  her relationships pretty much all stayed the same and even her time with Warden didnt even result in more than a forbidden kiss and Paige still calls him Warden for some reason.

overall, a very good and gripping follow up to book 1 and I cant wait to read the next one!