I loved this. It definitely is a bit slow through the first half (I almost never mind this, but a lot of people seem to struggle with that), and there’s sort of an excess of the characters telling stories (but they do all tie in).

The religious persecution stuff is NOT subtle at all and I thought it was done pretty well. 

Not a perfect book by any means but I am obsessed with Évike and Gáspár’s relationship development, although I do wish the ending

showed them getting a happy ending together, not just within their own realms. They kind of did, but I wanted to know that they do get their time together officially and truly and not just as a continued trysts. He said he’d marry her but then when they win, they aren’t actually together?? That was disappointing for me even if the ending was sweet and happy overall.

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Ava Reid always excels at captivating you with the vibes and atmosphere of her stories, this is just another example.