Nightbane

You were once the bane of my existence … and now, you are the center of it.

Isla Crown has secured the love of two powerful rulers and broken the curses that plagued the six realms for centuries, but few know the true origins of her powers. Now, in the wake of a crushing betrayal, Isla finds herself hungry for distraction, preferring to frequent Lightlark’s seductive haunts instead of embracing her duties as the newly crowned leader of two separate realms. Worse, her fellow rulers haven’t ceded victory quietly, and there are others in Isla’s midst who don’t believe her ascent to power was earned.

As certain death races toward Lightlark and secrets from the past begin to unravel, Isla must weigh her responsibility to her people against the whims of the most dangerous traitor of all: her heart

Spoilers Ahead

I feel like book two was better written than book one except for how the chapters were set up. It is hard to decide if the chapters are just the parts of the present day content or if when we go into Isla’s memories are their own chapters. Alex Aster did not make that clear as there is no table of contents nor is there chapter numbers. We are just given headings with half of them saying “before” so we know we are in Isla’s memories.

Nightbane starts where Lightlark left off. We start in Wild Isle in the Place of Mirrors as Isla tries to open the vault. We then follow the journey of Isla learning how to use all three of her powers after she unravels the two she was born with. We watch as Oro still has trouble admitting how much he has fallen for Isla. We also learn who Isla’s father actually was and how she got the star stick that clearly had Grim’s portaling power stuck inside of it.

In Isla’s memories, we learn a different side of Grim and if anyone is like me you found him to be like your last toxic boyfriend/husband/other half. We both love him and hate him for when he does in the memories. The book ends as Isla agrees to go to Nightshade to save both her life and Oro’s because Grim dropped the bombshell of if he dies so does Isla and that she is his wife.

I will see everyone on the other side of the third book in the Lightlark series, Skyshade.