In true Moreno-Garcia fashion, this was such an interesting meld of genres. It felt like a historical, but it was based in a fantasy world and it had just a dash of magic, but the story itself was and read like a romance. This is also, ultimately, a novel of manners. All of these are things I absolutely love and that worked incredibly for me here.

Why you may not like this book: All of what I said above in terms of what this book is. As a novel of manners, a lot of the plot or action of this book is people visiting each other and talking. It also follows a cast of very flawed and sometimes unlikable characters, one being the main love interest. Also, the magic here is truly just a sprinkle of it. It is more symbolic and metaphoric that a true, fully fleshed out magic system. If bits of "just because" magic will bother you, this is not the book for you.

Why I loved this book: First, in a book with those flawed and unlikable characters, the main character was truly a delight. I loved her so much. She's so earnest and easy to root for. She starts naive but always finds a way to advocate for herself and she gains a lot of agency.

Hector and Valerie are fascinating. I'm not one for morally gray characters, usually, but Moreno-Garcia nails it. They are complex and even at their most infuriating, I felt like I understand all the characters and why they did what they did. I was pretty sure SMG wasn't going to manage to change my mind about Hector, but she did. It was so satisfying.

I loved the role of magic in this story. It worked so well in a novel of manners to mark Hector and Nina as outsiders with the additional use of telekinesis. I also loved the telekinesis as a display of Nina's emotions and the progression of her agency and self-sufficiency.

I love SMG's writing and I find it so evocative. There was a lovely sense of place here.

I truly have not stopped thinking about this book since I finished it.