I liked this book but I also have some criticism/complaints that lowered my rating.

Pros:
- The setting is interesting.
- The magic system is interesting.
- I liked the focus on the relationship between Ahilya and Iravan.
- Nice to sometimes have adult characters instead of teenagers and twenty-somethings.
- The world is not perfect (some have complained about the hierarchical society, but I don't think all fantasy needs to be an escapist utopia).
- The writing is (for the most part) good, worked very well for me.

Cons:
- The book is described as being perfect for fans of N.K. Jemisin, and sometimes this did seem too similar to the Broken Earth trilogy.
- I didn't get the magic in practice. I wasn't able to visualize it. I have read fantasy for a couple decades now so I don't believe it's me not being somehow incapable of understanding magic systems.
- The pacing was off. Several passages should have been cut, maybe entire chapters.
- The history of the world and the current situation is revealed very conveniently.
- The magic/tech system didn't fully make sense to me.
- TOO MANY DASHES. I know you're trying to write a realistic conversation where people interrupt each other, but this is too much. See an example below, contains a minor spoiler.

Ahilya,” he began, his voice hoarse. “Please,
listen—”
“It was you. You sent her
away—”
“I only wanted to spend some time
with—”
“You threatened my
expedition—”
“No,” he said quickly. “That wasn’t
my—”
“You were supposed to be at the
watchpost—”
“Yes,
but—”

So in conclusion, I don't think it was bad but it didn't manage to keep me entertained, which is basically the main function of fantasy. I honestly don't think I will continue with this series. Maybe. We will see.