ngl this was a rough start. there wasn't really an introduction where i felt like we were thrown into this unknown world with so many different names and characters. i was even confused with whether the book is 1st, 2nd, or 3rd person - i was probs confused with who the main narrator was tbh (which i figured out later)

anyways the world is still interesting with the warring empresses and their strategists. it was fun seeing zephyr infiltrate the enemy camp and encountering her rival strategist which leads to an underlying romance with good banter. however, my initial confusion from the clustered info dump is clouding my enjoyment for this romance. it's so frustrating bc i feel like i would've loved zephyr and crow but i literally got to a significant part in their romance and i felt nothing. also i felt like there wasn't really any genuine buildup to their romance like all of a sudden you love this man??

also i hear ASTHMA every time the audiobook mentions one of the characters' names which is ALL THE TIME and i'm so annoyed

unfortunately this book isn't for me