Strap in for a high-octane mission that hurls Conrad and crew toward jaw-dropping discoveries that could trigger total obliteration, in book two of the Above the Black fantasy trilogy.

It takes guts to rise to the top of Meritocracy. It’ll take sheer ruthlessness to stay there. As militants and monsters lay waste to the Skylands, Uncle’s lawless tyranny threatens to unravel fragile Trade alliances. Conrad, no longer a mere Captain, now commands a squadron of ships at the order of the King. But Conrad’s High status can’t protect him from his own turmoil, and the price of power is steeped in blood.

Tormented by tragedies of war and by betrayal from his own family, Conrad must prove his worth to all of the Skylands. Led by an unhinged Explorer, Conrad embarks on a secret expedition to turn the tides of battle—before another island falls at the jaws of the gigataun. It’s a journey fraught with peril: Deadly monstrosities. Sabotage. Stowaways. And with friendships pushed to the brink and gentle romance stirring, Conrad will have to muster more than courage to weather the raging storms ahead.

I received an advance galley of this book courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.

I read “Sky’s End” (the first book in this series) about this time last year and loved it! I loved the world, the action, the suspense, and the relationships that were built. This book takes all that and ups the stakes and the action right out of the gate. If you’ve not yet read the first book in this series but intend to, you may want to skip this review for now, as it may include minor spoilers from book one.

This book picks up not long after the end of the first book. Conrad has reconnected with his sister and now finds himself at the helm of a squadron of ships, tasked with fighting off ginormous sky monsters and helping to protect the people of the Skylands from the people who live below the black, toxic clouds beneath the floating islands.

When Conrad’s dangerous uncle, the king of the Skylands, sends him on a secret mission, many wonder if Conrad and his crew will survive, but Conrad feels the mission is important enough for the good of the kingdom to risk his life, so he and his crew set off for an epic battle that will change their lives and the course of the Skylands forever.

Now that Conrad has established himself as a hunter and his uncle has officially announced that Conrad is the heir to the throne, the stakes are higher than ever. With the fate of the Skylands hanging in the balance, Conrad must prove his worth to his uncle and everyone in the kingdom. The journey is fraught with danger, from new (and bigger) deadly sky creatures to political sabotage and traitors around every corner. If you thought the action was white-knuckle in the first book, you haven’t seen anything yet. Since the rules have been established and the world has been fleshed out, this book is all about action, intrigue, and crazy battles.

A lot is riding on Conrad’s shoulders this time around and that is where the book shines, but also where it falters (I’ll explain more about that in a bit). Conrad has grown a lot. He was quite cynical and kept everyone at arm’s length in book one, focusing on taking down his uncle and saving his sister, but with the reveal at the end of that book, there’s a new threat looming. This time, Conrad is focused on being a leader and fostering the relationships he built in the first book. The entire lovable, rag-tag crew is back. We even get more from the evil Sebastian – and yes, I still wanted to punch him in the spleen. I appreciated Conrad’s emotional growth and maturity in this book, but as I said earlier, this is also where the book felt a little weak.

Conrad was so laser-focused in the first book that he refused to let anyone get close to him. This time around, he tries too hard to protect everyone, and his moral compass is his downfall. I appreciated his protectiveness toward his friends and crew, but I felt he was a little too lenient with some of the more dangerous people. He tried too hard to always be the upstanding captain, and after a while, it got old. I wanted more levels. I wanted him to show some of the hardness that he showed the first time around. He went from one extreme to the other in this book and just kind of stayed there.

Aside from that gripe, everything else worked really well. The pacing is breakneck, and a lot happens in the nearly 500 pages of this book. Twists and turns abound, the battle scenes are insane, and new revelations and shocking deaths kept me on the edge of my seat.

Even though Conrad’s moral high ground started to get on my nerves after a while, it wasn’t enough to ruin this one for me. If you’re a fan of book one, you’ll definitely want to check this one out. I love the world that Gregson has created, and the action is non-stop. This is an excellent continuation of an adrenaline-fueled series. I can’t wait to read book three.