When there is still so much to discover about your world and yourself…

Synopsis

After discovering Puracordis, Aurora withholds something extraordinary. She begins to harness the overwhelming power she possesses and is conflicted whether to share her secret. Young Enforcers have a strict upbringing, conditioned to obey and uphold laws. Revealing her secret is a crime punishable by death and could result in her losing everything.

Aurora is still dealing with the rejection from her betrothed, and her emotions are running high when she has to compete in a survival-of-the-fittest game with him. But Aurora’s interactions with an outsider have her distracted.

Whilst trying to navigate her complicated life, manage heartache, and figure out what being the Guidal means, Aurora is plagued with nightmares, tormenting her with the horrific death of a friend. She realises not everyone is who they seem, and her need to stay hidden has never been so crucial.

Friends, bullies, and a touch of something magical, Aurora carries a heavy load and could lose more than she envisaged.

My review

After discovering that there is still so much she doesn’t know, Aurora is set on finding out who and what exactly she is.
But life as a Young Enforcer isn’t an easy one, let alone discovering that Aurora may be a threat to the world she is living is.
And even if her betrothed, Pax, has turned his back on her, Aurora can always count on Tayo in having her back. Together they are trying to figure out what a Guidal is. But while Aurora may be a threat to the Boulderfell Institute, there is someone or something being a threat to Aurora too…
Finding out who you are is never easy, but in Aurora’s case it’s not only a matter of discovering who she is, but it’s also a matter of trying to discover who has her heart and who she can truly trust… because it may be a matter of life or death if her secret is revealed to the wrong person…

Pfew, this for sure was another rollercoaster! I was eager to read what would be happening next to Aurora, but I for sure wasn’t expecting all of this!

Of course it took me a minute to change worlds, leaving our world behind and return to this dystopian world, where things are completely different from what we are used to.

I liked the Aurora in this second book of the series, as she has become more independent, more resolute but also more determined to discover the truth, whatever it may be.
She knows she has powers, but she doesn’t know or understand where they come from, and she wants to find answers to her questions.
And while her heart got broken previously, she can always rely on Tayo, not only for her quest, but also for emotional support and just someone that is and will always be there for her.

But between everything that is going on at the Institute, and all the trouble Aurora finds herself in, we also see that in fact she is still a teenager. Even if she lives in a complete different world than ours, she is exactly like every other teenager, going through a whirlwind of emotions and attempts at self-discovery. So even if we are worlds apart, that made Aurora very recognizable.

And just like every teenager, or young person, Aurora finds herself torn apart between love interests. I have to admit, if I were in her shoes, I wouldn’t know who to pick either. Because both Pax and Tayo for sure have their own strengths, but they absolutely also have their own flaws… And just like Aurora, one moment I was leaning towards one, and a moment later towards the other.

I have said previously that I am not the kind of person that is into magic. In this story there is even more magic than in the previous book. But just like it was easy to change worlds, it was rather easy to accept the magic in Aurora’s world. And that because it made sense in a way. And it added an extra layer in the mystery surrounding Aurora and her world.

A world that turns out to be more complicated than previously, a world where Aurora has to fight (literally and figuratively speaking) to survive. A world where one wrong word can and will have consequences and where it’s important to know who can be trusted and who not.

It was easy to pick up the second part of the series, and return to this “special” world. I found myself totally immersed in Aurora’s world, wanting to know if and when and how Aurora would not only discover who and what she truly is. But I also had the urge to see where her own love triangle would go to. Only to discover that the book ends on a huge cliffhanger, and that I now have to wait for the third chapter to know how Aurora will fare…

Roxy Eloise wrote an amazing sequel, that made me read page after page, about a world so far and distant from our own, yet with still similarities to our own. And without ever pushing my own magical limits! 😊