I enjoyed the first book in the series, but it was more of a romance. This one is dark fantasy, much more to my taste. The Kai, a non-human race, are the victims of a spell gone wrong that has freed the galla, ghoulish demons who destroy any warm-blooded creature in their path. The royal family has been exterminated, and it's up to Brishen, the last Kai prince, and his human wife, Ildiko, to save the world using an army of undead.
I loved the rituals that made the Wraith kings, as creepy as it was. And the galla are horrific, able to mimic their victims to lure their loved ones into their traps. Court politics are also in the foreground, as in the first book. Brishen and Ildiko struggle to do their duty which also threatens their marriage. It's a much different tone from the first book, with more of a variety of characters. I would have liked some of the other Wraith kings to have dropped more of their back stories, but perhaps that will come in future books in the series. ( )

I need to stop letting reviews influence me so much. I was planning to skip this one because it sounded like a whole lot of relationship hand-wringing, but a friend green-lighted it for me, and I’m glad I picked it up. There was minimal hand-wringing, compared to what I was expecting, and I liked revisiting this world and its leading couple. Even when Ildiko’s actions were frustrating, she still managed to be admirable, and Brishen was great throughout. Definitely still one of my book boyfriends.
I felt like it kind of sped through the saving the world stuff with the wraith kings, as well as Ildiko’s regency. I can imagine both plots taking much longer to resolve than they did. But I also think these books are romance first and fantasy second, and the romance is swoony and lovely.
Looking forward to the next. ( )

More of a 3.5 star for me. It fell a little short of the first book in overall delivery but I enjoyed seeing how the story progressed. ( )

Nicely done fantasy novel. The cover does it a disservice making it look like a romance. There is a couple in it but the story is much broader than their relationship. Great world building and a believable and well told conflict with demons. ( )

a truly fantastic fantasy romance novel. loved it so much more than the 1st book !!! Had such a great balance of action and conflict that propelled the romance forward. loved the poetic prose ( )