This is one of those series that I have had on my TBR for years, waiting for a time when I need something fast and easy... We recently road-tripped to FL (to visit a few National Parks - Everglades and Biscayne - and spend a few days at Disney with our nieces), which was the perfect "busy vacay needs low stakes fantasy escapist story" time for me to finally pick it up.

This was a solid start to a series. It jumped in pretty predictably - the "special" (because she's human in a fae world, not because she's the chosen one...at least a little bit) MC, Jude, and the prince, Cardan, who you know is going to be the grey antihero character butting heads as we are introduced to the world and characters and unfolding plot. I will say, this prince is actually quite cruel to Jude and her sister, not just nominal meanness, and I am curious (and hesitant) how Black will pull it around to make me cheer for him/them. Like, I know that teasing your crush is a thing (and they are super young), and also that often “being treated badly myself” is used as an excuse for treating others badly, but this feels like a lot. We'll see if he gets a believable redemption arc. 

Anyways, like I said, a solid start...if markedly on the YA side. And yea, that’s how it’s marketed. But recently the YA line has been blurred with the new adult line and some YA novels lean more mature. This one is very YA, as far as dialogue, character choices/motivations, etc. It's got simple, but clean, writing. With classic fae world folklore. Which, for me, is a plus. I do love the classic stuff when it comes to fair folk, like the fact that they cannot lie, the dangerous reality of making bargains with them, the variety of types of fae, the normalized brutality in their day to day lives, and the gorgeous natural-world magics. In this particular story, the fairy deal/bargain plot device plays a prominent role and I am appreciating the breadth of creativity with it. 

The plot itself was also pretty basic. Not bad, just basic - a struggle for power and the machinations of winning it. Until the end. There was a solid twist that I maybe should have, but didn’t, see coming. To that end, I enjoyed the sort of alternate fairy tale perspective. Like, we usually get the story of the human who is secretly fae royalty hidden away in the human world for safety finding out about their true identity/destiny. THis is, at least in part, the story of how they got there. I found that interesting and unexpected! We'll see where the story takes us from here.  

“What if the way I am is the way I am? What if, when everything else is different, I’m not?”