Disclaimer: I was really hoping to love this one, because it was a gift from a friend, she thought I'd like it, and was very excited to see what I thought of it. If she hadn't made me read it, though, I don't think I would have picked it up any time soon, and for good reason, since it felt more like treading through literal mud rather than an enjoyable reading experience 😅

While this is definitely not the worst book I've ever come across, it's predictable, formulaic, repetitive, and reads exactly like you'd expect a typical YA fantasy to, except it doesn't even attempt to bring more to the table other than the tropes we're all too familiar with already (captive princess, enslaved people of color by white colonizers, which is immediately very racist, a barely fleshed-out love triangle - it all left such a sour taste in my mouth from the get-go). I did not care for any of the characters, not even our protag, who is supposed to grow into her courage and finally manage to stand up to her oppressors, but who actually does little more than dawdle around, whine and wait for someone to rescue/help/tell her what to do for four hundred and thirty-three (433) pages - this book is way too long for what it is - instead of being the queen she claims to be. I had no one to actually root for, and for me to get invested, you need to give me somebody to root for at least, but I genuinely could not care less about anything that happened to Theo or her ragtag team. I was just... so supremely bored the entire time. The only redeemable character was Heron, and of course the (token) queer person saves the day.

Again, it's not the worst book in the world, and I would've eaten this up if I would've tried it at 14-15, when I didn't know (or hadn't read) any better. However, I'm fully aware that I wouldn't have made myself miserable and pushed through this to the very end if my friend didn't want me to read it, and rest assured that I will not be continuing on with the series.