I've been curious about this book for a while and I just finished reading another book involving an arranged marriage and loved it, so I thought I'd give it a try. The romance in the book is my favorite kind of slow burn and it's super refreshing to have two main characters that aren't suddenly attracted to each other for no reason. The politics in the book are pretty fast paced, but they help to move the story forward. The plot starts off in the middle of a wedding that's about to happen. Ildiko and Brishen meet each other without knowing they are about to marry each other and quickly become friends. I loved how they both joke about how unattractive they find each other and the fear they have of the difference between the Kai and humans. Both are charming people with flourishing personalities and when they finally do find out that they're actually arranged to marry each other they are clearly on the path to being really good friends. It was super entertaining to see how Ildiko and Brishen had foods that their species respectfully ate that they hated. The Kai can't stand the taste of potatoes of all things! I was laughing that whole part of the book, especially afterward when Anhuset threatened to kill her cousin over the incident. It's a very interesting twist and helps to add to the cultural differences present between humans and kai. It helps the Kai and human dynamic feel more genuine and realistic.

 As Brishen and Ildiko got to know each other more and spent a significant amount of time together, there are hints of their growing affection for one another. More importantly, they are attracted to each other for their respective personalities first, and then the physical attraction started coming into play. Their relationship was allowed to build for a good amount of time which made it so much more satisfying when they were finally together. It seems that Brishen isn't the only one who became attracted to a human. Near the end of the story it's clear that Anhuset and Serovek have something going on. Both of them are great side characters. Serovek seems like a respectable leader that still has a playful sense of humor. I'm sure will make for great banter with Anhuset. We didn't see them interact all that much in this book, but I do hope to see more of them together. Anhuset seems to be pretty closed off about her feelings, but I'm hoping that as she interacts more with Serovek this will change. I think that their relationship would also be a further step in the political setting in this world to normalizing romantic relationships between Kai and humans. Really excited for the next book and plan on reading more books from Grace Draven.