I was a bit leery going into this one because I think I picked up a lot of misinformation/assumptions about this book and series that I quickly learned are not true. Having read part of Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness, I thought this would have the same type of tone and be more overt in some political themes, like gender identity etc. Nor was it modern YA-ish or a Harry Potter alternate.

In the end I absolutely adored this book and it's themes of light and dark, good and evil, and the balance between them both. The MC's growth from page one to the very last is amazing, and the setting feels just as fantastic as the magic within. I'm still not a massive fan of Le Guin's overall prose, but I found this one much more engaging than her science fiction novels. This one is definitely a series I will continue. 😊