Starred Review Mandanna's heart-stopping sequel to A Spark of White Fire (2018) follows a determined Esmae, still reeling from the murder of her best friend at the hands of her once-beloved brother Alexi. The galaxy prepares for battle as mortals and gods take sides in an impending civil war that they all know will tear their worlds apart. Esmae needs to be certain that the odds are in her favor; political maneuvering can get bloody, but she is willing to blur the lines of morality to secure allies and stay one step ahead of Alexi, who threatens to unleash a beast far more terrifying than her indestructible warship Titania. Plot twists abound as Esmae realizes she only scratched the surface of the secrets that plague the House of Rey. She must push the limits of how far she'll go to shatter the golden image of her brother, before making the ultimate decision between clinging to the elusive hope of family or waging a catastrophic war. Told through the perspectives of Esmae and the sentient Titania, Mandanna's narrative delivers on her captivating start to the trilogy inspired by ancient Indian epics. The high-stakes, lofty narrative reads like a mythology story of its own, as the lives of gods, mortals, and spaceships are intricately connected, setting up for what's sure to be a breathtaking conclusion.