it's been a while since ive read such a dense political fantasy, and this book was like a breath of fresh air. i'm kind of obsessed with it. it was even like a fun challenge to try to parse the pieces of language that we were given without context (though it wasn't as fun trying to remember the names of a ton of characters that ultimately didn't reoccur often enough to justify the effort, or even speak, in some cases). the socio-political environment in the aida felt very monolithic, but i can't fault an author for wanting to write about a social utopia, and it didn't bother me, even if it did feel a little strange. i found the central relationship very sweet, and with just how much happened and happened and just kept happening i could almost forget that they'd only known each-other for about a week! i'm not complaining when i say that this was utter chaos; it just was, undeniably, a book where the hits never stopped coming. i was on the edge of my seat; i was kicking my feet and giggling; i was gasping with shock and awe; i was scrutinizing the clues. a book of all time, frankly, and i love it to death.
as 4 the ending...

what do you meeeaann it was the younger sister (name omitted bc i forgot how to spell it and don't want to check) in a country where women can inherit, her family is in a cold war over naming their successors to avoid hurt feelings, and the brother she's seemingly so threatened by is plainly terrible with politicking????? like is she stupid??? 😫 i knew that the inheritence thread would be involved, but i had hoped that it would be somebody acting in her interest, at least. like, girl be so serious 💀 i thought i was being so smart picking up on all of the times tar raeki didnt catch the suspect or arrested somebody personally or mentioned trying to enforce some element of security that other people just Wouldn't Maintain. that's on me, i guess, but i was looking for clues when meadows just wasn't giving me any

after the big reveal i was disappointed, but hopeful that the next forty-some pages could bring it back, and I'm happy to report that they did. the confrontation felt as satisfying as it could, after... you know, the bit that felt stupid, and the last punch of action was just the surge of adrenaline it needed to wrap up. overall a really wonderful book, even if i wish it had ended differently, and i'll be picking up the sequel!