I love everything this author writes, be it her standalone novels on human-fae relationships or her 9-book dragon series (that I plan to reread). I was curious about this new work, given it's been eight years since 'Spinning Silver' and over a decade since 'Uprooted.' What would she write about now? What kind of fae? And is it going to be what people call Romantasy, a term that can be retroactively applied to the previous novels (which I disagree with)?

Turns out, I needn't have worried. It isn't often that I read a fantasy novel and think, This is it, this is the blueprint. The writing style has no excess, nothing superfluous. You won't see dialogue that's there just to pad the story. It feels very familiar and nostalgic, but the message contained is surprisingly contemporary, almost boldly so for a narrative that draws from more traditional forms and is associated with escapism. There's also a bit of a meta element given that we are reading a story within a genre that has certain trope expectations (fighting, politics, romance), while the fae in here are easily manipulated and massively hindered by their predilections for those exact tropes. The narrative is deceptively simple and, most importantly, fun. Humans having to think of ingenious ways to outwit the immortal fae is like advanced chess. I liked that magic is not the point here—nobody's problems magically go away because they have superpowers, but rather, through brainwork and communication.

All Celia ever wanted was the love of her older brother, Argent, but Argent left his family to spite their father and Celia is left heartbroken. She decides to build a relationship with her other, unacknowledged brother, Roric, and together, they support each other through childhood. Celia discovers she's a sorceress, making her the prime candidate for marrying the crown prince. She dreams of searching for Argent in the summer lands, but before she can do anything, she is summoned for her wedding. However, the royal family betrays her and gives her away to the summer lord responsible for the hundred-year summer war, as a necessary sacrifice for brokering permanent peace. Argent, now a famous and well-loved knight, arrives to duel for her freedom at the expense of his treasured friendship with the summer lord. They both have oaths they cannot break and something's got to give.