I LOVED this book. It was so unexpected! Told once again from alternating POVs of Pippa, Adrian, and Imelda – an Ashlord, a Longhand, and a Dividian – the story is no longer about winning the races, but rather of winning the war. I wasn’t sure about it at first, but there was a major twist around 25% in that left me on the edge of my seat for the entire remainder of the book. The ending also brings everything back around to echo the beginning of Ashlords as it wraps up which is very satisfying.
The start of the story has Pippa leading the Ashlord army, Adrian leading the Longhands, and Imelda accompanying Bastian and his crew on missions around the edges of the war. At first, everything they learned (especially Pippa) during the Races seems to have been shoved to the backs of their minds, but with the reappearance of Quinn, everything changes and you really get to see all three of them shine as it becomes very clear that they’ve grown since entering the Races.
I also loved each of their POVs and thought the moments chosen to switch were perfect. And there were some great moments of sleight-of-hand and distraction in this book, where they mislead both the characters around them and sometimes even the reader. It was very well done.
I’ve read 21 books so far this year and this one is absolutely my favorite so far.
*Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s for providing an e-arc for review.
Whimsical Dragonette 