I read this series so close together that the actual plot points are blurring together for what happens in each respective book. Ivy is a very good person for wanting to rescue the other humans, I understand her perspective for this decision, and it was a big responsibility. Thankfully the humans took the news and the situation quite well in my opinion. Their overall presence raises the stakes and tension for the book. This did start to be a relatively large cast of characters, but I was able to keep everyone straight. I thought the hunky human Cole who put the moves on Ivy was a bit heavy-handed, but it was also a somewhat understandable and not an unexpected conflict. I did find it tiresome to read all of the back and forth between Ketahn and the Queen, but I also understand how this is the main conflict over the course of the trilogy so it needs to be somewhat drawn out. I like the inclusion of Ketahn's sister Ahnset and how she has a similarly forbidden relationship. Book one felt like a relatively traditional romance structure, but now book two and three are more of an adventure story because our main two characters are together and are committed and are now just trying to deepen that love and navigate their lives. I do feel that the writing was good to make the queen a real villain/evil. I liked the cast of characters and I felt there were some good humorous moments-- there are also many harsh and brutal moments too, definitely violence and gore throughout which raises the tension. Some other reviewers complain that this book was too predictable or convenient, but this did not bother me. Some also say that this is quite repetitive, and I agree especially with regards to the multiple interactions with the queen, but overall I read this fast and didn't really care about the repetition. There are also some complaints about Ahnset's choices in this book but to me that was very important for both character work and for the plot and really upped the drama!