I just received this book as a gift, and its gorgeous. It's the first of a series set in a rich, diverse, well developed historical fantasy kingdom. Lady Pyppenia is the illegitimate daughter of the King of Harbeny and a well-known star-reader from the allied nation of Mribesh. The book opens just after her father has passed away and his brother is crowned the new King, making Poppy's position at court even more tenuous. The widowed Queen considers Poppy family and invites her to the dowager estate, but the new King wants to keep her in the capital- even after she survives an assassination attempt. Poppy feels the walls closing in on all sides, and the only person she can fully trust is a Sleepless Knight, Cyrenic, who is oath bound to her. The mages and healers of Harbeny can shift a person around in time- taking health from the end of a life to cure a current illness, or taking wakefulness from the future to hold off sleep. Cyrenic has not slept in three years, watching over his Lady's life constantly. But even his vigilance might not be enough to keep them both from destruction. The art reminds me of the illustration team of Leo and Diane Dillion, in all the best ways.