emily lloyd-jones is a queen of atmospheric fantasy. i felt completely re-immersed into this world of thieves and spies and royals, that brushes against the magic and otherworldly. mer is a strong character to follow, capable of holding out her own, distrustful from her betrayals and use as a weapon early on in her life. her relationship with renfrew, her old spymaster, is as complicated and tender as an adoptive father-daughter relationship would be in a fantasy setting. i think my favourite character was definitely fane, he definitely felt the most developed with his involvement with the fae. ifanna felt the least developed, and i didn't really care for her character save for the history she shared with mer. 

if you're looking for an immersive folkloric fantasy book, i'd definitely pick up one of these author's works.