This was really good! The pacing felt consistent the whole way through and I really appreciated that the stakes were high for the characters. They were all morally grey, which I happen to really like—especially in fantasy. I also enjoyed the magic system. The signatures left by spells and the nuances of how magic works was very interesting and was explained clearly. The definitions from magical law at the beginning of some chapters were helpful but I’m glad they were sparse to avoid a “too much information”/textbook feel. I hope that the consequences of the darker magic in practice (related to the main characters) is explored more in follow-up book(s). The romance storyline was great too. Rune and Gideon had such great chemistry and I really do love the “bad boy brother” trope. There was some great tension and both heartwarming and heartbreaking moments. The dual POVs really benefited the development of the characters and story in this one—I’m glad we saw things from both Rune and Gideon’s POV. I loved the little plot twists, they really kept things interesting!

One thing that did confuse me was the setting, but maybe that’s just me. I had a tough time determining what sort of time period I should be picturing. I thought I caught one mention of electricity but the rest was gas lamps and candles. These details made me picture a sort of 1800s Europe type vibe, but the dialogue felt more modern (especially the cursing). I have no issue with mixing the two, it just made it tricky for me to place the setting. Overall I really liked this. It was a quick read for me and was easy to understand. I look forward to reading the sequel(s)!!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!