I enjoyed the second half significantly more than the first half (especially the last 15% or so) as all the little pieces that had been set up throughout the book clicked into place. I will say that I found Zephyr and Crow’s relationship to be rather annoying and uninteresting. They had some bog-standard "connection" that was never explained or even really utilized; it just got a lot of focus for seemingly no good reason. Where the story really shines is in Zephyr’s relationships and conversations with the other major players: Ren, Miasma, Lotus, Cloud, Tourmaline, November, and Cicada. It gets especially interesting when we compare interactions between those characters and Zephyr with how they act with other characters like Lotus or Cloud.
It felt a little too much setup (when compared to the amount of payoff) for me to really love it, but the ending definitely has me looking forward to book two.
It felt a little too much setup (when compared to the amount of payoff) for me to really love it, but the ending definitely has me looking forward to book two.