I’m always a little anxious picking up a sequel to a book I really loved. Will it be everything I hoped for? Will the characters from the first book be as I remembered them? Will the story line be as enjoyable? For Blinding Beauty (the second book in Brittany Fichter’s Becoming Beauty trilogy) the answers to each of those questions was a resounding yes.

First of all, isn’t that cover amazing? I love it. It matches the the tone of the book perfectly. Unlike a lot of other fairy tale series, this book follows the main characters from the first book on a whole new adventure. That’s right! Ever and Isa are back and at the center of everything! Now, before I go on….if you haven’t read the first book, Before Beauty, this review will be the biggest spoiler ever, so stop reading right now and go buy it.

Still with me? Good. You’ve read the first book, which was amazing. Ever and Isa are great characters and I was glad to see them return. I was also so relieved to see that, even though they changed and grew a lot in the first book, they still were far from perfect and had a lot to learn. I loved how this book picked up from their happily ever after wedding and showed the trials of a couple learning how to love each other while caring for a kingdom.

Now, as a warning, I saw heartache coming to our couple early on. I knew that things would get worse before they got better and so I was cringing as I read, waiting for the pain. It did come, and our heroes suffered, but where I had feared more of the heartache would come from our couple hurting each other, instead more came from outside forces. (Although they did hurt each other deeply, but the ones we love have a lot more power to do that and more power to forgive too).

The villian was really well written here as well. His reasoning made him more likeable than your average evil-doer and while I didn’t agree with him, I understood him.

My only hang-up with this book is the part of Isa’s brother Luance. I liked his character, but felt like he balanced on the edge between and main and secondary character. I’m not sure which I would prefer, more of his experiences or less focus, but it felt unbalanced. While I read, I kept wanting to read more from his perspective. A terrifying giant appears and then….we find out about the outcome later, in passing. I felt like every time I got into his story, I was pulled out and put back in way down the road. After finishing the book, I think I would have preferred the author to have stuck with less of his story and more of Isa and Ever. I would have loved a little more information on their healing and relationship.

In in all, Fichter writes a beautiful story and I’m excited to continue to follow Isa and Ever in book three as they continue to fight for their happy ending and their country. Put this one on your TBR! Happy reading, my friends!