Soon after arriving at school, though, Titus makes a shocking discovery, one that makes him question everything he previously believed about their mission. Faced with this devastating realization, Iolanthe is forced to come to terms with her new role, while Titus must choose between following his mother’s prophecies—and forging a divergent path to an unknowable future.

And here are the five things I loved most:

1. The twists – Oh. My. Goodness. I can’t believe how twisty this book was. I was reading in the car during a road trip and caused my husband to look askance at me more than once. So well done. I can’t wait to see what Ms. Thomas has in store for the third book. I have a few theories …

2. The alternating timeline – I loved the way the book played with time, jumping back and forth between the desert and what had already happened at school. It was such a great strategy to build tension and keep the reader wondering both what would happen next and what had already happened to lead them to that point.

3. The backstory – Oh, yes, I am going there because Ms. Thomas does such a great job of revealing just the right amount of information at just the right time. There is so much the characters don’t know about their own histories, and uncovering those mysteries will help in the present. I did not see some of these revelations coming.

4. The pacing – This is a long book, and I read it in two days. Ok, it helped that I was stuck in a car for eight hours one of those days, but still. I would have set aside the time for this book because it was so gripping. Part of that was the way it was set up with the dual timelines, but also there was a ton of action.

5. The romance – Ok, I had to keep this one point the same because it’s doubly good in this book for reasons I can’t explain until you’ve read it. I mean, I probably wouldn’t be giving anything away, but still. Titus and Iolanthe’s relationship gets tested and it’s just brilliant.

Who else is reading this series? What are your thoughts?