Jackal

Jackal > Folsom.

I was really disappointed with the first book of this series. There was super insta-love, women turning into sex-crazed maniacs in the mere presence of an End Man, and not enough character development to really get me invested in the story. But I persisted because this series is partly Tarryn Fisher so how could I not? I'm glad I continued because I did end up enjoying Jackal a lot.

Jackal enjoys his job as an End Man and he has a good time with it until he meets Phoenix Moyo. He is instantly charmed by her but she resists him, which is not something he's used to. Their attraction is palpable and more believable than Gwen and Folsom's. I liked that that Phoenix is her own person and has her own strengths apart from Jackal. She already plays a small part in the rebellion before she meets him, which eventually turns into a bigger part when she teams up with Jackal on a dangerous mission.

Overall, I liked this book a lot more than I did the first one. I felt like I was on the edge of my seat for a good majority of it. There are still a few cringeworthy moments where Jackal is forced to go to his appointments after falling for Phoenix but given the world this story takes place in, I have to remind myself that he doesn't have a choice. We also do get a fair amount of Gwen/Folsom and are introduced to plenty of new characters that keep you wondering if we can trust them or not.