I’m so torn with this book.
On one hand, I loved the magic system and what happens, and the cast of characters.
On the other hand, the binders aren’t explained until literally 300 pages in (of 555). I mean, I gathered what they were, but it was never explained.
Then, things plod along for 480 pages, with bits happening that aren’t entirely relevant, then bam! Those last 70 pages everything happens.
Also, there is another book to this. It’s not a stand-alone, so be prepared when starting this, it won’t be finished.
As I said, the cast were great. I love Attis and Rowlands in particular and I’d love to see more of Oliver. There was some truly beautiful writing in it as well, but this book was a bit of a slog. Not anything I considered DNFing, but definitely a slog.