Damn. I almost DNFed this again, but I’m so glad I stuck with it! While it has a slow start and a bit of an overwhelming amount of world building, I slowly sank into the story and Taliyen’s impossible struggle to get some fucking respect. 

This story deals with misogyny, double standards, and has betrayals left and right that will have you fuming. 
And at the heart of it is our resilient, dutiful “Bitch Queen” doing her damnest to keep her country together even as it’s being pulled apart at the seams from the inside out. 

Villoso has a steady voice in this heavily character-driven story, drawing the reader in through Taliyen’s resilient and unflinching perspective. The worldbuilding is in depth and everything is incredibly political. I also appreciated how this is a fantasy world that is also a love letter to the Philippines and what it could’ve evolved into without colonial forces.