>> March 2020 readalong for Books and Tea Book Club.

The record will show that I really like tales of Faerie, and this is a fantastic example. Although I wasn't immediately sold on the main romance, I almost immediately connected with Isobel (definitely not just because her name is similar to mine, nope) and within a few chapters I was wholeheartedly rooting for her and her chance at happily ever after. And by the end I was mostly convinced that Rook was a worthy love interest ;)

The plot kept me guessing and the pacing kept me intrigued; I adored all the major and minor characters, who added nuance to each other and the setting; the writing style hit a nice balance between vivid description (and some really hilarious analogies) and focusing on the narrative/narrator.

Honestly, this might've been a 5-star read. But I listened to the audiobook and didn't really love the narrator (including the way she read different characters' voices, especially Rook and Gadfly), which I can't quite manage to overlook.

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content warnings: 

blood magic, mind-altering enchantments, minor violence & gore, body mutilation, precanon parent deaths, minor character deaths

CONVERSION: 13 / 15 = 4.5 stars

Prose: 8 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 9 / 10
Emotional Impact: 9 / 10
Development / Flow: 10 / 10
Setting: 9 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: 3 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: N/A
Originality / Trope Execution: 5 / 5
Rereadability: 4 / 5
Memorability: N/A