<blockquote><b><i>"Countries are forged by war; perhaps girls are, too."</i></b></blockquote> This trilogy is SO GOOD. I don't know why it doesn't have more readers and more people talking about it. I enjoyed this second installment much better than the first one - this was way more fast paced and intense than the first, with lots of stuff going on and important information regarding the world mythology that will connect everything in the story and build up for the grand finale in the last book! Cate really had some amazing development here! She's coming into her role as a leader and learning to forge her own path and making her own decisions and seeing how it affects everyone else. She's more mature and decisive here and by the end she's really a force to be reckoned with. She also goes through a lot, with heartbreak and loss at every corner. Here we get to understand more about the political situation and the whole prophecy thing, as well as get to know the Sisters and this new Order of Witches. I think it's interesting how there's currents inside the Order - a part who wants to be cautious and wait for the right moment to make themselves known and overthrow the Brotherhood, even if by waiting means more girls dying and things getting worse for a while, and the part who wants to get into the fight and start a revolution, damn the consequences. I enjoyed the new characters, they are more than they seem, just like the characters from the first book and they all fit somehow into the plot. Cate's sisters also play a bigger role here and since the prophecy is about to be fullfilled, it makes sense. Tess is AMAZING, I loved her in this book, how she's developing and growing up - she's so mature for her age! Also, she gets an important role to play and I am happy to see how this plays up. Maura is INSUFFERABLE! I really disliked her in the first novel, but I could understand her motives and her feelings...now, she's just jealous and hateful. She can't stand the fact that she is not powerful and important. The things she does in this book really ruined her character to me. Speaking of the end..HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME, JESSICA? I was left a mess at the end of this book. My poor heart can't take this! Yes, the plot twists were amazing (although some of them I guessed a little before it happened), but utterly devastating as well. The book left of at a place that has me itching to pick up the final book! I can't wait to see what happens to the three Cahill Sisters and how everything will turn out in the end. This is a highly recommend read for me, go read this gem about powerful, feminist witches battling misogyny and inequality, with powerful and complex female characters.