4.5 stars!!! What a feat! World-building was magnificent and absorbing. Characters were multidimensional and lovable. Writing was beautiful overall despite a few clumsy metaphors here and there. Dialogue style and pace reminded me of THE LION IN WINTER and BECKET in a very good way. And I actually did not think the book was too long; every chapter, every plot point, had a purpose, even the absurdly complicated lore a la Tolkien, and I actually found it relatively accessible and easy to follow. Final battle scene was a little anticlimactic. I also think that overall the book could’ve been more lighthearted and humorous, with more varied character types, since the book is physically and emotionally quite hefty and would have benefitted from some comic relief, if only for a change of pace or flavor.