I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this book. It was a fast read but I was consumed with the story and Xifeng's character. She is such a complex protagonist who isn't necessarily a good person, but she drives the story and makes it her own. The court intrigue that was happening was also super engaging. Essentially, I found this story consuming and I really hope the sequel keeps with this court intrigue/questionable protagonist/with an interesting magic/folklore system that's happening.