This is a wildly imaginative fantasy world, and I was sucked in by the juxtaposition of the uniqueness of the world building with the dowdy main character Senlin. 

Bancroft hits you smack in the face with the sights and sounds and smells of the world of Babel, so much so that it seemingly overwhelms the characterization of Senlin and his journey...for a while. There would be times that I was totally intrigued by everything going on, but then characters flitted in and out of the story with no reason whatsoever...until the reasons made sense. And turned the last third of this book into something I was completely not expecting. I don't know that I'd call myself attached to any characters here, but I certainly wanted a lot more from everyone that wasn't Senlin. 

One thing that kept scraping me raw, however, is the absolutely fucking one dimensional treatment of the women in this book. Every single woman has to be helped or saved from the clutches of disgusting rapist men in some manner (his wife, Voleta), or they're not exactly fitting into the feminine norms of the world (Iren, Edith) and they still need help from Senlin. The masses of unnamed women sent off to whore houses or being kidnapped and married off to rich men in the tower...it just got annoying and then it got <i>boring</i>. 

I'm still interested in the second book, and will try it out eventually. I want to know what happens moving forward, and with the way the character dynamics have shifted, there may be some better treatment of women moving forward. This would have been an almost perfect fantasy novel for me if not for that. 

This novel takes 280 pages to get to the actual plot that is described in the synopsis, but I DIDN'T CARE ONE BIT. I was <i>utterly</i> taken in by Blackthorn and Grim immediately, even in the dire situation they start out in. Honestly, I went into this knowing almost nothing, and it surprised and delighted me the whole time.

I'd call this light fantasy; it feels much more like historical fiction (set in medieval Ireland) that is threaded with veins of fantasy. The fey exist and are introduced very early on, but they're on the back burner. Magic is mentioned and shown, but it's not a massive part of the story that is being told here. 

Blackthorn and Grim and Oran all felt like fully fleshed out characters. I enjoyed every single one of their POV narratives, and they all brought different emotions to the table as Marillier sketched out the world. 

Honestly, I'd say if you're interested in a book that is heavily a character study and a story of hurt people trying to do their best to be good people as they deal with their PTSD, then this is for you. The world building is lovely, it felt fully realized and lived in. The seeds of the actual plot are sown throughout the entirety of the book as the characters are deeply explored, but there really isn't too much of a plot here to rely on. 

I just really loved this. I want to gush about it so much. I can't wait to finish out this trilogy, and if the other two go well then I'll move on more Marillier.

Content warnings:

Mentions of and on-page sexual assault and rape, violence, imprisonment.</spoilers>

DNF@ 27% of the audiobook. This is so very tell not show kind of writing, especially in the Brittney POV where she and her co-host Jared break down and explain everything they're thinking and their theories about what they just learned. 

The pacing of Daisy's POV is incredibly slow compared to Brittney's, and it's creating massive tonal whiplash for me. This is especially noticeable by the dual narrators, who are both decent but are pretty awful at acting out voices or working out conversations. Often I can't tell when they've switched to someone else talking. 

I can see what this book is trying to do - because it's so obvious, neon glowing signs on every page obvious - but the journey there is just not for me. 

Made it to 5% and noped out because the main character is awful to everyone around her. If there’s a reason she’s this rude and acting stupid, I don’t care enough to keep reading to find out why. 

you're not gonna like this unless you're ready for something that is slow and quiet. something that ruminates on relationships - with each other, with our self worth, with the planet, with new ideas and old prejudices. something that is open to all aspects of human presentation, from gender identity to poly family units to practicing of religion. something that is hopeful in the face of a world that we keep breaking, but still so fiercely focused on the idea that we CAN fix it, if we come together and try. 

i thought it did go a bit overboard at times, feeling a little too preachy with its themes. but this was solid and hopeful and i enjoyed it.

This is a decent story that doesn't deserve the heavy comparisons to Legends & Lattes. Yes, it features characters who are giving up their violence-laden lives to open up a shop and yes it features building community and the shop itself, but...I don't know. Something about the stakes felt a little too high to be properly cozy. Just talking about opening a shop and building it and making tea and liking books doesn't make something cozy fantasy. It's a feeling, along with ultra low stakes and I think the stakes here were too high. Part of it also felt like it was all telling and no showing, especially with the romance between the two main characters.

It's absolutely solid for a self-published book on Kindle Unlimited. Just temper expectations and enjoy your time.

I can kinda see how people laud this as being a masterpiece, a comic classic, blah blah blah. 

The art and lettering gave me a headache. And while I eventually got into the rhythm of the story and understood what Moore was doing, it was a SLOG to get through.