My first from this author, so I didn't understand some of the references to prior series, but it was very readable regardless.

I was in the mood for a fantasy read, but admittedly quite nervous about the fact that the blurb mentioned ACOTAR...I've read a few other books that mentioned ACOTAR in the blurb and were just fully unoriginal rip-offs.

Anyway...this was tropey. I'm not entirely sure I liked the FMC...or any of the other characters. I wouldn't really call it enemies-to-lovers, either. The world-building was pretty weak, although I suppose that's better than overwhelming and confusing. The spice was meh but with some potential for more, I suppose, in the upcoming books. I do love a MMC who's ferally-obsessed with the FMC.

That said...four stars because I was engaged the whole time, and I'm tempted to roll right into the second book. Something about it being a pretty easy read for a fantasy book is appealing to me right now, at the end of the year!