Judging from this book's reputation as an absolute tome of high fantasy, naturally I was pretty intimidated when I started reading. The first hundred pages or so are rough, with many shifting character perspectives, so many names and places to learn, different sets of religions and histories, but that's pretty par the course for this genre. Once you get into the groove of the book, however, it starts to become more manageable and the plot really starts going. There were several moments that were just stabs to the heart and led to really great twists and turns, while also having a decent amount of calmer, more character building moments. Out of our entire cast, I don't think there was one I found uninteresting or underdeveloped. Sure, there are some I think we could have spent more time with, personally I would have loved to see more of Donmota Morosa and maybe a few chapters from her perspective, but I'm pretty satisfied by what we got.

The unapologetic and accepted queerness was top notch. Ead and Sabran's relationship blossomed wonderfully and, by the end, I was rooting for them all the way.

I actually really liked the fact that, in the end, they didn't ditch their responsibilities to run away together. They both realized that they have titles to fulfill and duties to their people that have to be done, if only for a certain period. It would have been reckless and out of character if they both just threw it all away, so I'm glad the author went for a more mature direction for their end game.

I see that the author is coming out with a prequel next year and....while I'm glad that there will be a return to this world, I can't say I'm not disappointed that it won't be with these characters, at least not yet. I guess I would be more accepting of a prequel if there weren't just so many loose ends I want to see mended as soon as possible.