In the beginning of this novel, I was in love with it. It had me fangirling and crying. It was slotting itself as a new favorite. That feeling was snuffed out by the ending, where many of the plotlines were left unfinished and new information was throw at us, prepping for the sequel.

This is the story of Iris, a newbie reporter. She misses her older brother, who has left to fight in a gods' war. She tries to send him letters, but they get magically rerouted to Roman Kitt, her coworker and rival. Through letters, they start falling in love and inspiring each other to be brave and face the war.

The strength in this novel lies in the emotion. The author knows how to tug at your heartstrings, and does it with the delicacy of plucking a harp. The resulting music is astounding. Through poetic letters and shared sandwiches, it is a delight to watch this couple. The dance that is played around the anonymous letters is perfectly paced and squeal-worthy.

I loved all of the characters in this book. I was especially rooting for Iris, who is always strong -- even when she's breaking apart. Her journey in this book of finding strength and conviction is beautiful. Roman, likewise, is done nearly perfectly. He gets his own journey of finding independence and joy.

The weakness of this novel lies in the unbalance between the two narrators. In the beginning of the novel, their two perspectives trade off frequently. Both of their plotlines are rich and important, and it's the dual perspective that really makes the relationship shine. However, in the middle those chapters with Roman dry up, becoming less frequent and relevant. Roman is still present and active in the story, but we never get that obvious angst and activity from his words. It's such wasted potential that it makes me want to cry.

Then we have the ending, which I feel mixed on. We got just enough conclusion for it to be an End, but the novel is much too preoccupied with its sequel that it neglects our protagonists making decisions to cap off (and celebrate in) their own quests and arcs.

A video review including this book will be on my Youtube channel in the coming weeks, at https://www.youtube.com/chloefrizzle

Thanks to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.