About a third of the way through, time jumps forwards by several decades and the whole human cast changes.

I didn’t care for the flip-flopping in time, and I can’t seem to figure out a reason for it, but other than that, this was a great story. I love the interaction between the fae world and the real events of history. ( )

This is another one of those 3.25 books, rounded up to 3.5 stars. I liked the book, but it was dry. The story was a bit of a mishmash - too many characters, many of them with similar names. I do like the background of the England in 1650's - with reformation happening and greater power to the people. It was a time of great changes - and writing from the perspective of a fictional race of faerie who have different priorities than the humans above, it makes the real history easier to understand.

I do not know much about this era. But, I think the author has done her research - she takes what happened and added a magical veneer over it all - so we get dragons formed of fire and feral faerie realms, intent on revenge. I think the author integrated the two worlds very well - however, the story is a bit convoluted - it jumps back and forth from times and perspectives. Starting with the London fire confused things, when in reality, the story actually started twenty years earlier. The story is also dry, there is lots of action, but it is so matter of fact. The politics, both faerie, and human, are rather tedious. But, the history is interesting, and even though this is a fantasy, I did learn something about this chapter of English history. ( )

While Midnight Never Come was very much a “talky” book—a lot of the action and tension came from the dialogue and backstory—the follow-up was a much more action-packed and exciting read. While the sections switching off between the Protestant Revolution and the Great Fire of 1666 are a bit jarring at first, they seemed to flow better as you learned more about what was occurring in the previous chapter. One of my favorite things to read about in faerie books are the workings of the various courts, and in this book, you see how the various faerie courts of Europe either mirror or disregard their mortal counterparts. I also like how the main conflict is tied with what’s occurring in mortal London as well, giving further sense to how closely tied to mortals the Onyx Court and its sovereigns are. This is one of my favorite series, and I love going back and rereading these. ( )

Lune is now queen of the Onyx Court, but she is threatened both from within and from without. Time has passed, and Parliament is contending with Charles Stuart for control of England. A little farther forward in time, the Great Fire of London threatens both realms.

The writing is a little more formal than I usually prefer, but it took less time for me to sink into the story this time than it did with the first book. ( )