This went by very quickly. I was confused a good deal of the time. It seemed like I was reading a sequel at points, and I kept looking it up, thinking it would give me more information or tell me what I was missing. But no. It's its own story and it starts in medias res and proceeds very quickly to some good action. I thought the humor was outstanding and the metanarrative-- storybook/fantasy tropes catching themselves calling on other tropes to achieve what was essentially a trope coup-- was catchy. It made me listen for details. And also I loved the chickens. I don't know how you couldn't. For instance:

“How did you get a demon in your chicken?'

'The usual way. Couldn't put it in the rooster. That's how you get basilisks.”

“Are you all right?" asked Fenris.

"Horrible puppet," she said, "demon chicken, fairy godmother."

"And it's a fool's errand and we're all going to die," said Fenris. He patted her shoulder. "Still, I have to admit I didn't see the chicken or the puppet coming.”

I appreciated the undulating feminism of the piece. I really appreciated how Kingfisher wrote characters realistically observing their surroundings, accurately describing strange new things as new first, then strange, right into incomprehensible and frightening and a moth led you to a man where a hummingbird person (?!) removed one of your teeth for .... What?! Okay! What happens next?

And perhaps overidentified with Marra as someone who is often oblivious to things that aren't obvious. I can't see political maneuvering, so I certainly can't anticipate it. And why would anybody lie? It takes so much more time and energy than the truth. Lying is inefficient. But... do the ends justify the means? Well, it depends on what you mean by ends.

Meanwhile, get the chicken out of your decolletage or... I forget what the text said and that particular quote hasn't made it to good reads. So tell me where to go next with this authors work. And with that, “I hope your dogs are all loyal and goofy and good-natured and that your chickens remain free of demons.”