It was very boring, I didn't care about the story or the characters, I guessed something and knowing the author is transphobic... it really didn't set right with me. 
I still have The Binding in my tbr which interested me more than this one anyway.

Could've been a 5* book if it had fewer twists, strands, characters. I liked the voice, it was kind of Arthur Koestler x Dan Brown. as a bridge player, I'm obsessed with the idea of grand jeu now. wish it had been queerer tbh.

I went into this book with my mind full of Bridget Collins’ first book for adults, “The Binding;” that book had a similar, indescribable magic-like act that was well-known but misunderstood or feared. However, this book wasn’t quite what I expected and in some ways, that was disappointing … but it also says a lot about starting a story with expectations, and not meeting it where it is.

I won’t go as far to say that the relationships between these characters is queer-baiting, but there are definite shades of it.

When Leo started to have feelings for Carfax, I thought that his queerness may play into his desire to succeed and be the best, but he’s unable to do so because he wears a mask of what he thinks is right versus being authentic. I really liked that reading, and felt that Leo’s growing feelings for Claire was the true betrayal; not only did it feel disingenuous to his relationship to Carfax and Leo’s queer identity, but it felt wildly unfair to Claire to be a stand-in for her brother.

The tone of the book overall was wholly melancholy; successes, love, relationships, and triumphs were all tinged with this overarching sadness. The government cracking down and distorting all the good and beautiful in the world and the game of grand jeu felt inevitable; the lies and self-loathing of the main characters felt insurmountable; and no matter how they wanted something else, the rift between Leo and Carfax and Claire was so intense.

I didn’t guess the twist before it happened.

There were hints to it, enough that I thought perhaps Carfax disguised himself as a woman to come back to Montverre, but the opposite never occurred to me because, again, I was so bought in to the queer subplot.

It was an interesting feeling as a reader to feel betrayed by the story and in that way, I felt how masterful Collins is with her storytelling.

There was enough here that I can’t deny the book was GOOD, but I rated it three stars because I didn’t feel good or satisfied after finishing it. Not all books need to make me feel those things to be enjoyable reads, and I appreciate the novel for everything it did. I might enjoy it more on a re-read in the future.

I know they say it's about the journey, not the destination, and boy was this a journey. I'm not too sure about the destination.
I guess this is my way of saying I'm still not too sure how I feel about the latter part of the book, although I absolutely loved everything until then, and I am somewhat satisfied with the ending. It's not necessarily a bad feeling