I had no idea where this book was going, which is ABSURD because Tesh tells you where she’s going with it from the first chapter and yet…
That’s the thing about this book. It’s not trying to surprise you and, with all that, it lets the characters grow and discover in their own time. It’s a story about how to be better. As individuals, as a society. It’s a story about what good is - the ends and the means - and about people just being people. 
It is also, because of course it is,

A wizards versus lesbians story. The wizards showed up early and then we eventually got lesbians. Thank goodness. I do think it doesn’t argue that queer love saves against empire although it does sort of make the goodness, like queer love, does not need to be productive to be valuable

.
This book was such a ride and earned every bit of its ending.