Shadowplay the sequel in an escapist fantasy trilogy set in a Victorian-era circus

This was another fantastic read for me! Ater I finished "Pantomime" I was intrigued where Micah's story would lead. The change from a circus stage to a theater stage, and also the following "cast change," meant a focus on a much smaller group than we saw in book one. This also allowed for more in-depth exploration of the relationships between the characters and I really enjoyed meeting Maske and Cyan, and, most importantly, Ricket the cat. Micah learns a lot more about magic and his own powers, including the good and the bad sides of wielding such power. All along I really loved Drystan being such a steadfast supportive partner at Micah's side, willing to get up to no good with people that, in contrast to him, had magic at their sides. On the topic of Drystan, I also really enjoyed slowly learning more about the different characters' backstories and the importance of second chances. Each of them could be somewhere very differently if they had all continued down their original paths. I am very excited to get into book three ("Masquerade," pub. date March 17, 2026) to see where all these open ends will finally coalesce. While we received some more world building and information in this book, we still have lots of threads to follow! Thank you to DAW Books and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!