This is my first reread of the series (especially since 'The Stolen Heir' came out in paperback finally), and it was such an amazing reread. I adore Cardan and Jude, I hate Taryn but it is such an amazing book. It is definitely a fantasy based book rather than a romantasy book, but it does not stop the obvious crush that Cardan has on Jude. I gave this book 4.5 stars, and I cannot wait to reread the second book.

Quotes:
- “If I cannot be better than them, I will become so much worse.”
- “Have I told you how hideous you look tonight?” Cardan asks, leaning back in the elaborately carved chair, the warmth of his words turning the question into something like a compliment. “No” I say, glad to be annoyed back into the present. “Tell me." "I can't.”
- “If you hurt me, I wouldn't cry. I would hurt you back.”
- “Instead of being afraid, I could become something to fear.”
- “Father, I am what you made me. I’ve become your daughter after all.”
- “Let's have a toast. To the incompetence of our enemies.”
- “But kissing Locke never felt the way that kissing Cardan does, like taking a dare to run over knives, like an adrenaline strike of lightning, like the moment when you've swum too far out in the sea and there is no going back, only cold black water closing over your head.”
- “Desire is an odd thing. As soon as it’s sated, it transmutes. If we receive golden thread, we desire the golden needle.”
- “He rises from the throne. “Come, have a seat.” His voice is replete with danger, lush with menace. The flowering branches have sprouted thorns so thickly that petals are barely visible. “This is what you wanted, isn’t it?” he asks. “What you sacrificed everything for. Go on. It’s all yours.”

Tropes:
- Enemies to Lovers
- Politics
- Bully Romance