suri's writing is something i will always appreciate in fantasy books: poetic and lyrical, it paints a vivid image of this world, a world where magic, and women, are burned, and where we find our two protagonists priya and malini, who are victims of both. the pair find their lives intertwined with their desire for carving out a place in this world with ever-shifting politics and power that envelop them.  i think suri does a beautiful job portraying their story, and others; some people have argued that the multiple POVs got too much, but i think they were necessary in showing what this empire has inflicted to individual inhabitants, and how they've responded in their own unique way. bhumika, ashok and priya are all victims of the same trauma, and it's eye-opening to witness the ways it changes each of them, for the better and the worst. out of all the characters their development and plotline i enjoyed the most. 

i do still have some qualms on the book: the pacing is frustratingly slow, with most of the necessary plot occurring in the last third of the book, with the former two thirds used to build on characters and set the current political scene of the world. there isn't an info dump with historical or fantasical context, something i don't always enjoy, but without i was left disoriented and felt out of the loop in the first few chapters. i also think that despite character work being a preferrred tool in this book, i didn't really learn much about characters like malini until her last few chapters. the 'protagonist' role leaned more towards priya than a shared balance. in regards to their relationship, i wasn't convinced that they had any profound feelings for each other that wouldn't have existed without their constant proximity; even their parting promises felt stilted and not very believable. 

what i took for this book is that it is intended to be a buildup for the second two books, with the plot picking up there, which i hope is the case. i'm invested in the outcome for all the characters mentioned and the future of this world.