I can see why this book was so well loved and the sequel highly anticipated.

It was so well written, you could feel the emotions of the everyone. From the blasé attitude of those living in the city where the war hadn't reached, the concern of those closest and on the front lines, and the disappear from those involved directly. Balancing those emotions with the journey of Iris and Roman's relationship was really well done. I loved reading about them, it was cute and the two work so well together both as rivals and lovers. The relationship didn't lose what made it interesting and enjoyable when they became lovers which I am grateful for.
This book had be enthralled at every moment when I was reading. The war, the mystery of what happened to Iris' brother and the relationship all worked so well together.

The ending had me so surprised, I couldn't believe what was happening. It was a twist that I didn't see coming and really brought the magic in the world out of the whimsical and could be forgotten that there is magic into a more prominent feature. I wished I moved right onto the sequel but I had another audiobook from the library that I needed to read first.