"The world-building in this book is so immersive I feel I only scratched the surface of what it has to offer. Iryana’s descent into enemy territory to save the community she’s never been at home in is both emotionally and physically fraught. And speaking of emotions, the tension between her and the military’s charismatic leader is only matched by her friction with his brother: a man even the amoral soldiers are afraid of, who knows too many of her secrets. While I am a sucker for romantic tension (which this book has heaps of), and an action-packed fantasy adventure (that this book delivers), it’s Iryana’s emotional journey as she wrangles the truth of her past that left me weeping. I’m so glad I wasn’t in public reading this book because I was ugly crying through several chapters."

- Goodreads Reviewer

"My personally favorite thing about BTBC is the major theme of healing trauma. I always loved Chaol’s arc in TOD and Nesta’s in ACOSF - sometimes you find their perspective and behaviors frustrating, but you get a deep look at why they are the way they are and better understand them. Watching them work through their darkest parts and learn to accept themselves is a beautiful, beautiful thing, and I love that we get to watch Iryana do so as the main character.

This book had me cycling through giggling, crying, being on the edge of my seat, angry, and scared - and I loved every moment of it."

- Goodreads Reviewer

“This was a fun read that went by fast! There's a lot of questions early on that pulled me in and got me more invested as the story went on. The beasts are fascinating and seem beautiful even though they're incredibly dangerous. The villain is simultaneously very sexy and completely infuriating, and maybe even more dangerous than the beasts. There's an elemental magic system that feels unique, and a society that's trying to rebuild post-collapse and their struggles feel real. I was completely hooked while Iryana made a found family out of a gang of her sworn enemies and then managed to find that her biological family, for all their mistakes, never really left her either. This book made me cry in public multiple times, and near the end I cried twice in the same day, in the same Starbucks. 10/10 highly recommend.”

- Goodreads Reviewer