Extremely compelling premise for the book, but I found the overall execution lacking.

The relationship between the main characters felt extremely rushed and incomplete. Their kingdoms were supposedly archenemies, but they served on a shared council that other races in the kingdom refuse to take part in. There was dramatic backstory mentioned a couple times, but never explained or shown. I feel like this one story could have been compelling and emotionally interesting if it happened over the course of multiple books.

I found the main female character extremely frustrating. She was continually described in one manner, but there was never any depiction of it in her actions. She is also extremely impulsive, but her recklessness is never reflected on. There is actually no reflection (by herself or others); she can just do no wrong. Some of her decisions are however justified from repeated and horrific abuse. 

The world itself is also not well built. There are many moving parts and none are fully explained. The history of the different races and their mutual perceptions are barely touched, but required context for the political aspects of the book. There is an appendix at the back which somehow answered none of the questions that I had. 

I also feel this book needed another round of editing from a grammar standpoint. I often found myself re-reading sentences multiple times because the sentence structure was weird, but below are a few examples that I think were just wrong.
“… she said as he pulled back to see his face” (should be her face) p 420 Kindle page white addition
“… angered flowed from her into the phoenix‘s” (should her be possessive or should phoenix’s not be) p 435 Kindle page white addition

All that being said, the ending is interesting and is making me consider reading the next book in the series. It is the only reason it isn’t a one star. 

I enjoyed it but the ending is horrible. I am not inspired to read the next novel after this ending. I'll probably give it a try but I'm not excited. 

Loved this book. Would recommend checking trigger warnings!!!!

Ok, I was not expecting to be emotionally gutted by this book - AH! Great worldbuilding, loveable characters, heartbreaking story. There are a few typos/grammar mistakes, but less than I expected from complaints in some reviews. I need the second book STAT so I can start the healing process. Can't wait to see what happens next. Warning: this is no HEA.