Not my favourite from this author but still a good book! I wasn't as interested in the plot as her other books, and I found all of the characters flair for the dramatics to be a bit much. I know the dramatics were intentional and I enjoyed it at first, but after a while I got a little sick of it. Also, I know this book takes place in France, but the way would characters would decide to say random words in French at random points throughout their sentences was driving me nuts lol, it was unnecessary and annoying. But on the positive side, Popovic's writing is spectacular as always. Her flowery prose feels very dreamlike and really suits gothic fantasy, especially when it comes to creating atmosphere. This was wonderfully dark, and the imagery of all the finery of the nobles combined with the satanic machinations of the main characters made for excellent choice for a spooky season read