The world building is great, there’s a rich history, with complicated relations between the two “Kinds”. It’s fascinating. I also love books with alchemy for some reason.

The romance is a really slow burn, but I still enjoyed it. For Crier it's the external conflict/societal enemies to lovers, i.e. she's not supposed to like Ayla because she's a different 'Kind'. Ayla has more of the original enemies to lovers, similar to The Shadows Between Us, she wants to kill Crier.

The writing style is alright, not really prose but not exceptionally beautiful either. A bit above simple. The plot is somewhat unique (resurrection trope was somewhat unnecessary in my opinion but well done). I really like the characters, they’re very different and multidimensional, and not tropes either.

The cover is so beautiful and unique too. I can’t wait to read the sequel. Also I can’t believe this is Nina Varela’s debut! It’s amazing for a first book. In fact it would be great even if it’s wasn’t a debut novel.