despite this taking me the better part of a month to read, I really did enjoy it. however, it felt approximately 200 pages too long, got hard to follow at times, and did in fact make my brain hurt a little. that said, the world building was intricate and the characters were dynamic in a way that made them feel real. the magic system did confuse me a bit at times, and it felt a little inconsistent. all the characters had so many sides to them, even the villains made you empathize with their feelings and justify their actions. I could give this 5 stars because of how well-done it was, but just have to dock one for the pacing. things did move, but it felt like they could have moved just a little faster and with more clarity.