“She now understood that the world wasn’t kind to young women, especially when they behaved in ways men didn’t like, and spoke truths that men weren’t ready to hear.”

People have been recommending this to me for years and they were all right. It's a complete failure on my part that it took me 5 entire years to actually pick this book up, but I'm so glad I finally gave it a chance.

This was a masterclass in how to create a great YA fantasy standalone. Somehow, finding a perfectly steady pace, this book weaves together humor and magic with a host of grim, sometimes almost creepy subject matter and balances them perfectly. It has lovable, vivid characters, an incredibly fun book-based magic system, and some of my favorite pieces of writing I've read all year.

I would recommend this to almost anyone, but particularly fans of the Infernal Devices series. They aren't incredibly similar, but if you loved one, I feel you would really enjoy the other.

Overall, I had such a good time with this. Everyone that recommended it was correct and I love them for it.