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While it may not have been quite the whirlwind thrill-ride of the first book that deeply explores a fantasy London, I think it was for the best. I don't know how you could top how, well, magical, the first book was and the thrill of discovering an urban fiction take on so many fantasy tropes made for this world by Aaronovitch. It feels more mature, more focused, and I enjoyed that. The basics of the world have been laid for us, and this book narrows its focus to dive deeper into magician societies and vampires. It really begins to explore those and allows us to understand those aspects of the world more. It doesn't try to up the excitement or ante from the first book, and I respect that. Too many authors, or directors, or any creator of any type of medium, fall into the trap of "bigger is better" and continually try to one-up themselves. Aaronovitch doesn't, and instead focuses on making a good story. I'm grateful for that.

This is a book I have gone back and forth on throughout the years. I always enjoy it, but to what level varies. In my 2020 re-read, I thought it was “decent” but nothing great. This time around, I thought it was closer to “very good.” Sure, there are plenty of problems with this book. In fact, most of the issues I have with the later books in the series had their roots set in this title. That said, I can't help but love it. It still has some feeling of wonder from the first book, but it also expands on it greatly. But none of that is quite what makes this book so enjoyable, it's that this book is unique in the series. It's the only one that feels like that was written to tell a message that Shannon Messenger (the author) had a warning, a message to share with her readers. That message is of how guilt breaks one down. I think the most impactful part is when Alden tells Sophie about how guilt slowly broke him down over time. It wasn't all at once, it was a slow creep, and he documents it well. This book is a thoughtful look at guilt, and how destructive of a force it truly can be, not just on the person who is experiencing said guilt, but on everyone around them as well. It's not a theme that I picked up on as a high schooler reading this for the first time, but as an adult, I definitely see it now. For me, this is what makes this book so special and unique in the series. It's the only one that I can think of (to be fair, as I'm re-reading the series, maybe I'll discover another book was also trying to spread a message that I just missed in previous readings) that has a message it is trying to share. It's well done. Sure, at the core it's a book about an elf girl who is ridiculously overpowered who gets away with breaking too many rules. But, it also has a wonderfully told message, and I don't think this should be overlooked.