content warnings: death, murder, loss of a parent, violence, abduction
representation: main f/f relationship, side wlw character

This was a hard book to rate. The first 150 pages are so boring I considered DNFing the book, but after that it got much more... exciting?? (that might not be the right word to describe it but let's go with it)

A common criticism I see is that the worldbuilding is bad but honestly, it's not terrible. I mean, it's not super fantastic or anything but in comparison to other fantasy YA favourites (Sarah J. Maas and Holly Black's books immediately spring to mind) it's perfectly fine, especially as a first book in a series/duology/trilogy/whatever.

Another criticism I see is that the characters aren't well developed and are cliched. Again, in comparison to a lot of YA fantasy, it's right on par with perfectly average characters. As a matter of fact, I think the characters in this were a breath of fresh air: no Strong Female Characters™ and no dickheads who had a rough childhood, tropes which still plague YA.

I'll admit, the plot was just okay at first, but then it picked up and the book was able to balance that with the romance really nicely.

Now, what we've all been waiting for, the romance. Oh my good lord, it was so good!! I've seen people complaining that the characters should have realised they liked each other and gotten together earlier because there's no homophobia in this world, apparently forgetting that Denna is betrothed to Mare's brother. Of course they can't get together! And that gives us a sweet slow-burn relationship that will literally make you scream when they finally get together.

I'm extremely excited to read the spin-off and sequel, especially as those will likely be much better because they won't be bogged down with establishing the world.