Well, I'm a bit disappointed.
I requested this from Netgalley because it sounded very, very unusual and the premise sounded pretty cool; but yeah, maybe I underestimated how much disordered eating on page could have an effect on me (yep, that's one of my only triggers; I usually DON'T mind it, especially if the ED rep is well-done, but sometimes it makes me feel rubbish about myself and I have to give into the urge to skim). Also, I'm pretty sure I wasn't precisely in the mood for fantasy, especially of the complex variety, and I should have listened to myself. Oh well.

There were a couple of very positive things: I loved the dynamic between the two MCs, and I really liked both Fierre and Aiven as MCs. Their slow-burn relationship was my favourite thing of the novel: I decided to read through to the end (okay, yes; I also skimmed a lot) just because I needed to see them reach their HEA.
On the other hand, the world-building and the whole complex, political landscape left me VERY very confused. Again, maybe it was my brain's fault; maybe it was just a smidge too messy for my liking.

And yeah. Like I said; I enjoyed bits of this novel, and I'd definitely recommend it if you're looking for a queer high fantasy romance (and unlike me, if you have the bandwidth for a complicated, and quite fascinating in some ways, world-building); especially considering it's a debut.

All in all, definitely not for me, but who knows, I'm sure there are readers out there that will love it more than me.

TWs/CWs: eating disorder (starvation, induced vomiting), body shaming (internalized and by others), abusive parent, sexual assault and aggressive language, sex used as a means of self-harm, violence, slut-shaming.

Many thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.