The comparison of this book to Serpent & Dove is definitely appropriates, it's a very similar setup but with some key differences and a more grounded setting. I think I enjoyed this one a little bit more, and I had enjoyed Serpent & Dove quite a bit. I really liked Otto and Fritzi and their relationship. Yes, the "enemies" part of the "enemies to lovers" trope is there because of their positions as a witch and a witch hunter, but

they very quickly get past that and it's more like two partners working on a heist.

I thought the prose was excellent, not too drawn out and floral but still evocative and descriptive. I appreciated the incorporation of historical and German references blended with the fantasy elements. My one complaint (which is due to my personal preference as someone who gets frustrated with fantasy series pacing and plotting) is that I wish this was a standalone, because I feel like they really could have pulled it off

into a satisfying ending if they hadn't included the epilogue.

I will probably pick up the next book, and hopefully having a good sequel without bad character regression will make it different from Serpent & Dove.