This book was an excellent sequel to Gilded. It was dark and magical and entirely compelling. I love stories that have me genuinely surprised and that truly put characters into difficult conflicts. I loved that I sincerely could not tell if this story would have a happy ending or not (no spoilers on which way it swings), and the plot perpetually kept me on my toes. It was exceptionally well-written, which is the standard that I've come to expect from all Marissa Meyer books. The pacing was great and the stakes felt appropriate for Serilda's situation. As with the first book, I cannot recommend this duology enough as the perfect autumnal/October read.