This is the second book in this series, and it doesn’t disappoint. We already knew that Franco and Misu escaped alive, but no one else did...then the Morning Star appears, with its masked entertainer....

We delve into Misu’s character a lot more in this book, and it focuses more on her and the girls this time. But we have a new mystery to solve...and more secrets...

I really enjoyed this book and I look forward to the third and final book!

This was an enjoyable read. I didn't like it as much as the previous book.
The Author manages to build a beautiful world, with an interesting climax.

I received a digital advanced review copy of this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This got better, I read and enjoyed the first but this is a big improvement the character building I wanted was here in this book and it got you more invested in the characters, a great series

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Huge thank you to NetGalley and HQ Digital Publishing for approving me for this galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I didn't realize this was a sequel when I requested it so I had to go looking for the first book. Found a good deal on Amazon for it! The first book was a little slow moving for me, but I was definitely happy to have this one ready in the queue. Reading the first two books, I noticed a lot of similarities to Daughter of the Burning City, Caraval and Ace of Shades. All of which I loved and Den of Stars was a good follow up to Den of Shadows. I definitely enjoyed getting to spend time in this world!

I loved this one more than the first! Hooked from page 1! Thank you netgalley for the free arc in exchange for an honest review!

Den of Stars was different than I expected. Not in a good way. Violence, drugs, language were all too prevalent in the story. I skimmed through a lot of it because I don't like the content. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

A book that got better as it went along. In the previous installment, I didn't feel an attachment to any of the characters. For me that is a big struggle, it is one of the main things that keep me reading. But this time, although it was slow I started to enjoy the characters and story.

I am looking forward to reading the next installment and making my final judgment. But this is an improvement on the first book which gives good promises for the next!

Den of Stars is the sequel to Den of Shadows; a story following The Gamblers Den as it travels across the land. Sadly, The Gamblers Den is no more, along with Franco and Misu it lies in ruin; the staff is spread across the land with no hope of reuniting. However, the mysterious Morning Star appears, with alarming similarities, and a mysterious leader known only as The Hare. We learn quickly that Misu and Franco are not dead as believed, but are alive and well and moving onto their next venture, however things aren't quite as they appear...

This book appears to follow almost the same plot as last time; we travel to a town, perform a show, and move on et-cetera, we even have the same plot of Misu failing to be honest with her family in order to keep them safe, and in this case, rescue Franco. It wasn't that interesting in the first one, and sadly having been repeated in this book, it just falls flat. Misu literally makes the same mistake of not being honest with those around her, and it was clear that a lot of the 'tension' of the book would have just disappeared if she'd spoken up a little earlier. Franco is almost non-existent in this book given that he is held captive for most of the time, and that is a-okay with me, I didn't warm to him that much in the first place.

Byford does do well again in that he manages to build a beautiful world, and the climax of this book was actually quite interesting with all the women playing a key role in the rescue of Franco. However I just didn't enjoy this book; none of the characters were particularly likable, all the staff seemed to have turned on each other, and their motivations were just unclear and peculiar. I don't think i'd be interested in reading the third book as I can already imagine the plot; given that Misu has once again made a deal with the devil without any discussions with the rest of the ensemble, I can't see these relationships being sustained.

Thank you NetGalley and HQ Digital for providing me a free copy of this e-book in exchange for my honest review.

More Misu!! This was literally all I wanted from the end of the previous book, Misu was pretty much my favourite character and I had become a little fed up with Franco's self-destructive behaviour. So give me a story with Misu in the centre of the action being competent and badass and I'm pretty much guaranteed to enjoy it! Misu, fans of book one will be pleased to know, is as wonderful as ever. 

I was a little concerned about the premise of this story, that it might be a simple re-hashing of book one, that is true to some extent, there are a lot of similarities between the two (book three is very different but that's a discussion for tomorrow's review). Upon finishing the book I realised that I enjoyed the last 20% of this book far more than the opening. This is pretty standard for me at the moment so I'm not sure if it's the reading slump I've got myself into or if it's a genuine reflection of the pacing.

I do have one explanation for my problem with the start of the book. We have Misu as our main character (yay) but she's got a secret. I won't reveal it here because it is a spoiler, but the fact that a lot of the book is from Misu's perspective and in order to preserve the mystique it isn't revealed until much later in the book means that you do not understand Misu's motivation whatsoever. So you see her alienating herself from other members of the crew and you see her doing confusing and sometimes very sad things but you don't work out why until much later. I don't mind a mystery, but not knowing the motivation for the character whose perspective you are depicting just means that I as a reader didn't connect with the story as much as I wanted to until later on. 

That being said, if you persevere and let the story come to light you are left with a very fun train heist kind of story, the kind of action that I enjoyed in Den of Shadows. I enjoyed learning more about the characters, whether that was through dialogue or flashbacks and seeing the chance for characters to develop outside of Franco's misery was definitely something I appreciated. 

If you enjoyed Den of Shadows I can say that the sequel is worth reading. I will say that the opening is slow, but let it burn a little and you'll be rewarded with a fun fast-paced story. 

My rating: 4/5 stars

I received a digital advanced review copy of this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.