Part of the blurb on the back of the jacket reads “Gideon the Ninth meets The Witcher” and it is in many ways!! We have a red-headed godkiller (Kissenna), a knight-turned-baker (Elogast), and Inara, a noble’s daughter and her tiny friend, Skediceth. Each one of these characters harbors secrets that are a matter of life and death. The cast of supporting characters are wonderful as well and really enrich the plot. The characters are extremely compelling and have current and past lives that are deeply intertwined, whether they know it or not. The lore and politics are super interesting and I’m hoping to learn more about that aspect of this world in the upcoming sequel. (It’s well documented that I love fleshed out lore and politics!!)

There’s a romantic subplot that I wasn’t a huge fan of, but given the circumstances the characters are in, it kind of makes sense. It didn’t take away from the narrative, which I did like. (One of my book pet peeves is when a romantic subplot takes away from the main story/narrative!)