There were two things I particularly loved about The Obsidian Tower. One was that the thing that everyone was saying Must Never Happen (opening the magically sealed door in the titular Obsidian Tower) didn’t happen at the climax of the story - it happened at the beginning, and the book was about dealing with the fallout rather than an “it’s obvious where things are going, the only question is how we get there” kind of thing. The other was the incredibly likable protagonist, Ryx.
I’m happy to say that we get plenty more of both things in book 2.
For reasons that are obvious to everyone who read book 1, Ryx isn’t staying at home with her grandmother any more. She’s off with the Rookery, and they get a job that takes them to a Versailles-like palace complex in the neighboring empire. The lion’s share of the story takes place within the confines of this palace and its grounds.
I can’t say too much about the plot without spoiling things, but as the story plays out we learn a great deal about the Demons (surprise, surprise, but there’s more than just Discord and Hunger about). We learn a lot about Ryx’s personal history, and we learn more about her “broken” magic. And we get development of her relationship with Severin.
And there are DEVELOPMENTS. Oh boy, are there ever DEVELOPMENTS. And once again, what could have been a climactic reveal is instead revealed to the reader early (not quite as early as the opening of the door in book 1, but still early). And we get an entire book dealing with the consequences.
Overall, an excellent follow-up that left me anxious for book 3. Strongly recommended.