I had a hard time with the first act of this book. Evangline's distrust of Jacks was annoying. It wasn't that she should trust him, it was that it's illogical. Every single thing bad thing or slightly off moment she suspects might be his doing. Even when it contradicts the goal he's said he wants which is to get her to open the arch. He even said it wasn't him and he doesn't want her dead and for all his manipulations, he's not a liar. But for too long she consistently things everything means he's out to get her and it was annoying.
Once she finally got over that, the story got interesting. There isn't much plot. But I think part of that is because Garber dwells so deeply in the moments, which makes them more enjoyable so I can't fault her for it.
I was also confused by the curses. Why put a mirror curse on Evangline and Apollo then send him to hunt her with the Archer curse? If it were anyone else I’d think its sloppy, but Garber makes it work. She particularly good at laying the groundwork, even if it seems contradictory, and then having it pay off (sometimes better than others). In this case, I thought the Valory Arch payoff worked exceptionally well. It had so many layers with Castor and the Valors (whose magic was never quite explained - why were they magical and no one else?).
I love it and I hate it but there’s a third book so it will be ok.