Where do I even start? I absolutely adored following the main trio as their loving relationship only grows in beautiful and healthy ways. I LOVE THEIR RELATIONSHIP SO MUCH. I love how Nick grows as a person, through discovering her strengths and recognizing and working through her weaknesses. The book tackles many complex themes and pulls it off.

Most of all, though, the writing in this book is top notch. Utterly gorgeous. I can't quote specific lines because they are so embedded into the context of the book that they wouldn't make sense individually. The story is built through a powerful web of words and phrases that often made me stop, re-read, and roll their beauty around in my mind. I have such a clear picture of what the world looks like, but also how Nick sees it. I felt fully invested in experiencing the world and story from Nick's perspective. Cornwell does a masterful job of expressing how Nick reacts to events, of fully pulling in the reader and somehow making the characters' emotions crystal clear with complex, stunning wordsmithing. I legit sobbed-not just tears, full on sobbing-at one point.

I cannot recommend this duology enough. ( )

This was the second book in the Mechanica series and it was okay. This is one of those series I want to love, but am always a bit disappointed in.

In this book Mechanica and Finn end up journeying to Faerie in a desperate attempt to keep the two countries from war.

The story was a bit simplistic and I had some trouble staying engaged in it. I also had some trouble understanding the three-way relationship that went on between Finn, Nic, and Caro. It was just kind of confusing.

I did enjoy Nic's devices, although there wasn't much of that in this book. I also enjoyed the mystery behind the Ashes and that all being explained.

Overall this was a good read but not great. I felt like the story was a bit too short and simple and struggled to stay engaged in it. If you loved Mechanica you will probably enjoy this book as well; otherwise I would skip it. ( )