This book wasn't truly on my radar until it was revealed to be the Illumicrate book for December, and then as time went on, I found myself getting more and more hyped for it. I'd see videos of people loving it, saw the gorgeous Illumicrate copies arriving, and by the time mine showed up, I wanted to dive right in. Storytel had an audiobook available of this, and with all the Christmas present wrapping there was to be done, I decided that to read the book in that format. It was a great choice in hindsight, because I really enjoyed the narration of this story, and it was light enough that it was easy to follow, even while wrapping frustratingly shaped gifts.

Magic seemed to unfurl slowly in this book, revealing a bit more of itself with each and every page, until we had a full-on magical mystery on our hands. I loved seeing these little glimpses of magic and power as we, and Robin were introduced to this new, dangerous world. The pacing of these revelations seemed to perfectly align with Robin and Edwin getting to know each other, big reveals lining up with big jumps in their closeness. It worked perfectly for me.

The magic itself was also quite intriguing, from how it was used by others to how it was treasured by Edwin. I also loved how the magic was done, and how preciseness lined up with how much magic one had to spare. There were harsh limitations to this magic as well, especially for those who had very little magic, like Edwin. The descriptions of magic, and it's various uses within the story, were also wonderful, and I loved seeing both the how and the why of different types of spells, and how different characters applied magic differently.

However, the thing that drew me into the story the quickest was the dynamic and relationship between Edwin and Robin. There was so much banter, and then so much soft pining and angst, and it all drew me in so much faster than the story itself originally did. I loved watching them tackle the mystery together, and how it brought them closer and closer. I can't wait to see what the rest of the series has in store for them, though it does seem like the next book will have different main characters (which I'm actually quite excited for!)

Overall, I greatly enjoyed this, and have already started recommending it to people I know would love it. I can't wait to read what's next!