I enjoyed this one more than the first in the series, but found some of the space battle/combat scenes hard to follow at times. I will say this could likely be due to the fact that I often listen to the audiobook while doing things like walking my dog or doing chores and occasionally am mildly distracted. But the highlights of this book for me were not action scenes but rather the emotional character ones anyway, like the part where Darrow returns to a place from his past (don't want to get too detailed to avoid spoilers).

While the beginning of this book started out fairly predictable for me (including a major reveal that had me say out loud I KNEW IT while walking my dog), the final 45 minute of this audiobook was an absolute ROLLER COASTER and I am still shook by the ending. Holy moly I was so stressed listening to that, one of the biggest nail biters I have read in a WHILE! What a way to guarantee I will be picking up that next book. Although I have NO IDEA where the heck the series goes from here.

The Anishnawbe/indigenous themes and history in this story are so deftly woven into an emotional and gripping combo of a mystery and a coming of age tale. I experienced the full spectrum of emotion while listening to this audiobook, and I also loved that since it was audio format I got to hear all the Anishinaabemowin words pronounced correctly rather than butchering them in my head. Good balance of twists I saw coming due to foreshadowing and the ones that took you by surprise. The fact that this is a debut novel is astounding as the quality of the writing is superb to the point that Angeline Boulley has now become an instant buy author for me. I particularly loved the ending of the novel. Without spoiling anything, it struck the perfect balance of giving the readers enough resolution and satisfaction while also leaving us, much like the protagonist Daunis, angry at the ways indigenous people are left often without justice or resolution.