I started reading the series thinking it's mostly gay romance. It's not. It's first and foremost a fantasy book with interesting worldbuilding and intriguing political plot. The new main character was interesting to watch—at first she seemed to be quite idealistic and naive, but she showed her strength and ruthlessness at times; she was a fine match for her father's scheming, I quite liked that.

The romance felt a bit underdeveloped, especially on Avia's side. This is a little disappointing, it made me root for the other potential love interest even though I knew it wouldn't happen. But he was so cute and gentlemanly, he may be my favorite character from the book actually. I hope we see more of him in the next book (and I hope even more that the author won't make him too weak).