If you'll pardon the language, I finished this book and said, out loud sitting by myself in my living room, "F*** YES!" I mean, I knew the plot was one that I'd love when it involved England, magic, and alternative history/politics. But I really was not expecting it to be this good. I read this book fast..the pacing and twists were written perfectly and it was so hard to put it down. I think, if this hadn't been one of the craziest weeks I've had in awhile, that I might have been able to get through it in a single day.

As I mentioned, this is an alternate, magical story of the history and present day politics of Great Britain. The "Equals," those born with Skill (essentially magical abilities) rule the country through a sort of magical parliament system, after having overthrown the regular king years ago. Since then, the normal human population has been subjugated in many ways, including the horrifying system of slavedays, in which each un-Skilled citizen has to devote 10, consecutive, years of their lives working as slaves. During this time there are supposed to be certain rules that are followed, but in reality the conditions are terrible and the number of human and family rights violations are innumerable.

But things are looking like they might change and there are two families at the center of things. The Jardines, the most powerful Equal family, are led by a terrifyingly power hungry and cruel father, whose three sons each have their own goals, agendas, and grudges that have made each of them start to question and want to change the current hierarchical system of their country. The Hadleys are an un-Skilled family who tried to plan a way to make it through their slavedays together, but ended up caught up in various movements and intrigues that have ended up with them scattered.

This is a book of political intrigue. There is magic, there is a little forbidden romance, but before all that, this is a thrilling political page turner. In great detail, Vic James creates an alternative world that have just as many levels of power and machinations as any "normal" government today. There are those who have power and want to keep it (Whittam and Bouda), those who have power and want to help the powerless (Meilyr and Dina), those who have power and just want to live their lives and help, specifically, those they care for (Gavar and Jenner), those in power who do the wrong things and continue to take advantage in order to get to what are the right ends (Lord Rix) and those with power who have secret plans and make lots of unexplained choices/moves that you just cannot wait to see where they go next (Silyen). And on the other side, there are those without power who just want to duck their heads and get through (many of the Millmoor inhabitants), those without power who stay as close as they can to those who do and look down on other just like them (Millmoor guards, the un-Skilled parliamentary Speaker's son), those without power who use what they do have to fight for everyone else without power (Luke, Asif, Renie - the whole Millmoor Club), those without power who just want to live their lives and help, specifically, those they care for (Daisy, the Hadley parents), and on this side there is the loose cannon, whose motivations may seem a little more clear but you just know they have the capability to do more and you can't wait to see where it goes (Abi). This book did a beautiful job creating all these separate threads and weaving them into something much bigger and greater, in a way that was both easy to follow and still required a considerable amount of attention and intellect on the part of the reader - a tough balance that many books never find.

Honestly, I loved this book. There were some odd parts in the writing where certain phrases and moments seemed jarring or even possibly unnecessary (and to be honest, I get the title, but think it's a little silly/shallow), but on the whole those were drowned out by the wonderfulness of the story as a whole. I know there is a whole genre of actual political thrillers, but I feel like the added aspects of alternative history and magic just make them so much better. James could easily have written a normal one, but that she went this direction is just lucky for me! I cannot wait to see where these characters go next!