Jude's life could have ended the same day as her parents'. But by a cruel turn of fate, she is instead taken away by her parents' murderer to Elfhame where she manages to grow up despite everything. Waiting for the day of her revenge. 
The hype was real. I'd be immune to it when the book came out and bookstagram erupted into cheer, but when it came back to the forefront in the past month I felt it was time to finally make my opinion. And I'm sorry to say it did not work for me. I'm glad this book is beloved and I can partly see why. But I never empathized with the characters and their motivations, I never fell under the spell of the atmosphere. It turns out my lack of interest for the book when it came out was justified. Who would have guessed?