This sequel was completely worth the wait. We pick up with Julian and Yadriel, very soon after the events of Cemetery Boys as they work to settle back into their lives after the ways the first book has changed them. Julian in particular is trapped between two worlds in a new way, and feeling like he’s failing both of them.
At it’s core, this is a book about grief, and about how we choose to react to it. I really appreciated getting more of Julian’s backstory, as this is truly his book, though we get some of Yads’s point of view as well. To see the way life has been so cruel to him and how he actively chooses every day to believe everyone deserves kindness, peace, gentleness, and dignity anyway made me love him even more deeply than I had in book one. This book simultaneously feels like an open wound and a warm hug as someone who is unfortunately experienced in grief and the ways it impacts your life. Julian loves his people so deeply, and seeing the lengths he was willing to go to to protect Luca, and the way he immediately embraced Angel as being a kindred lost soul like his group was really sweet. I also really came to love Rio, Julian’s brother through the course of the book. He’s still so young too and just doing his best to protect the family he has left.
I’d love to read anything else Aiden Thomas chooses to set in this world. I can see myself returning to this book at Christmastime the same way I return to book one around Dia de Los Muertos for a seasonal reread. Yads and Julian are still one of my favorite fictional couples, and I’m glad we got to see more of their story!