I really admired what the book was trying to do more than I actually enjoyed reading it. The premise immediately pulled me in. The relationship between the sisters was probably the strongest part for me, especially the way their bond carried both love and survival. At the same time, the book felt a little too heavy with ideas. There’s so much going on identity, colonialism, racism, family trauma, violence, that the story sometimes got buried under its themes. I found myself emotionally disconnected in parts, even though I could tell the writing was smart and intentional. The experimental structure also worked for me in some chapters and completely lost me in others. Still, I can appreciate how original and fearless it is. Even when I wasn’t fully invested, I respected the risks McConigley took and some scenes have stayed with me afterward. For me, it was one of those books that felt more interesting to think about after finishing than it did to actually read in the moment.

This was so not needed. After reading the last thing he told me and genuinely enjoying the tension, emotional stakes, and complicated relationship between Hannah and Bailey, I went into this expecting the same level of depth and suspense. Unfortunately, this felt like a watered-down continuation that didn’t really understand what made the first book work in the first place. One of the strongest parts of the original novel was watching Hannah and Bailey slowly learn to trust each other while dealing with Owen’s disappearance and the fallout of his lies. Their relationship felt messy but believable, and by the end, it actually felt earned. Here, though, that emotional development barely seems to matter. Bailey especially felt flattened into a much less interesting version of herself. In the first book, her guardedness and anger made sense because her entire life was falling apart. In this one, she mostly just feels emotionally distant for the sake of creating tension. What disappointed me most is that the first book ended in a way that felt emotionally complete, even if bittersweet. This continuation didn’t add enough depth to justify revisiting these characters. Instead of deepening Hannah and Bailey’s bond or giving them new emotional challenges, it mostly rehashes familiar conflicts without the same emotional impact. I feel like the author destroyed these characters with this book, making me wish I didn't pick it up.

The book plot was pretty predictable overall, and there were definitely parts where the pacing slowed down so much that it became a little boring. I kept waiting for bigger twists or revelations, but most of them were easy to see coming. What made the book worth it for me were Hannah and Bailey. Their relationship felt genuine and developed so naturally throughout the story. At the beginning, they barely tolerated each other, and you could really feel the tension and grief between them. But watching them slowly learn to trust each other, especially while everything around them was falling apart, became much more compelling than the actual mystery. The ending was what really elevated the book for me emotionally. The time jump worked surprisingly well, and Bailey calling Hannah “mom” genuinely hit hard after seeing how rough and distant their relationship was at the start. That moment felt earned, quiet, and emotional in a way the thriller elements sometimes weren’t. Also the ending leaves some questions that only the second book will provide.

This book is one of those fantasy mysteries that hooks you less with action and more with atmosphere, strange worldbuilding, and the dynamic between its two leads. The murder mystery itself is genuinely engaging, but what really carried the book for me was Ana and Din. Ana is immediately fascinating, eccentric, brilliant, isolated, and operating several steps ahead of everyone else. She has that classic detective energy where every conversation feels like she’s dissecting people in real time, but Bennett gives her enough vulnerability and oddness to stop her from feeling like a Sherlock clone. Din works perfectly as the counterbalance: observant, loyal, and far more emotionally grounded. Their partnership ends up being the emotional core of the story. Watching Din slowly understand how Ana thinks and how exhausting and lonely that brilliance can be, added a lot of depth beyond the investigation itself. The mystery plot is layered and smart without becoming impossible to follow. I liked how the investigation kept widening from a seemingly straightforward murder into something political, biological, and deeply unsettling. The worldbuilding ties directly into the mystery in a way that makes every reveal feel earned. The leviathans, the altered humans, the empire’s systems, none of it feels like background decoration. It all matters to the case. The pacing did dragged on in the middle and it felt a little overexplained in moments and that is a reason I give it 4 stars. All in all I'm excited for the second book.