In his latest book, Aiden Thomas continues to create rich worldbuilding, fascinating and page-turning stories, and memorable, complex characters. Cemetery Boys wowed me as a debut novel and Thomas’s craft continues to grow with each new book, without losing the authenticity of his voice — everything that I enjoyed in Cemetery Boys is here, but with a more ambitious cast and plot. There are so many characters in this book, but each one feels unique and memorable, so it is very easy to keep track of who is who and how their relate to our lead. As a leading character, I found Teo to be relatably flawed and overzealous at times — I found a lot of the teen behaviors to be realistic, even in the fantasy setting. There’s a very promising story and build up here that has me eager to read the next book. While this volume doesn’t entirely standalone (it’s part one in a duology), it’s a solid introduction to the world and characters.