LOVED this book. A great sequel to a great story. I really loved the first book, and this book ignited that love even more! It was great to see Aria and Perry again, as well as Roar and the Tides.

In this book, we get more insight into Perry and his life as the leader of the Tides, which I found to be really interesting. I enjoyed watching him run the tribe. The issues came when Aria returned to him, after the end of Book One (with her mother dying). The Tides reaction to Aria was expected because they deemed her to be an outsider, but after a while, when they could clearly see that she was not a threat (the threat came later), they still were so rude to her.

Aria ends up making a decision that affects Perry, as well as Roar. Things are starting to go up in flames, within the Tides and for Perry. The Aether storms are getting worse, so they all have different ideas of how to handle the situation. Which is how Perry’s leadership is drawn into question. Some of the Tides don’t take too kindly to how Perry chooses to run things, which causes a rift.

Meanwhile, Aria and Roar have an adventure of their own that involves the reappearance of a specific character that has a huge impact on both Roar and Perry. Soren also makes a reappearance, and I will say — he wasn’t that bad. His father, though? An asshole. Truly. We get to see Talon and his storyline pans out a bit more. And then there is an introduction to someone(s) that “infiltrate” — this is my word choice — The Tides. And I really wish that Perry would have listened to his instincts when they initially appeared. It would have saved everyone a lot of trouble.

The character growth in Roar and in Perry were the most impressive for me, Aria stayed pretty much the same, which is not a bad thing at all. I don’t feel that this was her story, as much as the first book was. While the POVs still remained focused on both Aria and Perry, I personally felt that I got more out of Perry’s perspective than I did Aria’s. Again, not a bad thing.

My beloved Cinder gets himself into a bit of trouble in the book and we find out just how important he is to the Still Blue. Which I wasn’t at all surprised about, especially after seeing how powerful he was in the first book.

Knowing that this is the second book in a trilogy, I was nervous about how this book would end. Would it be a huge cliffhanger? Would I be left wanting more? Would I be upset? Actually, I was very pleased with the ending; because it wasn’t an ending. I felt that there was slight closure to a certain subplot, while initiating the invitation to stick around for the grand finale in the third book.

Rossi stayed true to what she does best — tell a great story. I didn’t feel a shift in writing style or approach from book one to book two. As opposed to the first book, I felt that this book started off very strongly and didn’t leave me uninterested for a moment. I wasn’t confused, I wasn’t questioning what was going on at all. It was nicely paced, and fantastically written. I think Rossi had more room to explore emotions and interpersonal relationships amongst characters. While the Still Blue was important, relationships were a bit more of a priority in this book.

If anything, I am more excited than ever for the final book. I want to know what happens with Perry and Aria. With Roar. With Cinder. With The Tides. Will they get to the Still Blue? What will happen when they get there?

So many questions! But I cannot wait for that final book!