This is a stunning work of political fantasy! Foz has created such a lush world with Tithena; the level of detail and thought put into every aspect of the culture was palpable. The fantastical touches to the world are done so lightly but so deftly, the world is believable & well crafted. There was particular attention/explanation given to non-cisgender characters in a way that felt natural & was very interesting. There were a few copy editing slip-ups when it came to the non-binary characters that weren’t great but such is life. I also enjoyed the treatment of Markel’s muteness & sign language. 

Additionally, Foz’s writing is beautiful. Both points of view felt unique & didn’t blend together; partially due to Vel’s part being in first person & Cae’s in third. All of the characters (that are meant to be) are lovable! I loved Cae & Vel but was also very fond of Markel & Liran. There were two characters mentioned who never showed up & that felt odd to me: Cae’s mother & Riya’s wife. I didn’t expect either of them to be significant to the story but it was still weird. 

As for the story itself, I found the political intrigue to be gripping. The stakes were just right & the husbands’ involvement felt plausible. The pacing was also excellent, fast while also giving the reader enough time to digest information. I will be interested to see what the next book holds because as much as I loved the characters, the story was self concluding, it doesn’t require or even really ask for a sequel. I

I struggled greatly with the first part. What Velasin goes through is so raw & felt so realistic to me that it made it difficult to keep reading. (I was warned about & prepared for the rape, which didn’t make it any less upsetting or jarring, but was unprepared for the suicide attempts.) Having said that, I am immensely glad I pushed through. As the trigger warning states, this is a story about healing & I am very interested to see Vel continue to heal in the next book.