This book took me unusually long to get through and I have a hard time putting my finger on why that is. In the beginning I really enjoyed that the book forced me to slow down. It gave me the time to really digest the delicate world building and the big cast of characters and their relationships.

At some point I wanted the plot to pick up on pace though. Not a whole lot of things happen in this book. Sometimes the plot is literally traveling back and forth. That did get a little tiring. It wasn’t that bad though, since the pages were still filled with character work and further establishing the world building. 

I can’t stop mentioning the world building because it is so intricately done. I love the magic system. The politics and people involved in it work so well together. The world felt very real very quickly. The world building was also built into the story really well. It often bothers me when a fantasy book is just a confusing mess the first 100 pages and drops all the world building on you. That isn’t what happened here. It was threaded through everything else. I was made to care about the characters and their story very quickly. 

I expected this story to be mostly about Wren and Everis. I was surprised to see chapters from so many other characters at first, but quickly got into it. This story is first and foremost about political intrigue and betrayal. It’s not a romance, although the love the characters feel informs all their choices. 

Overall I really enjoyed this book, with amazing world building, characters, and relationships.