This book is a great mix of all those fantasy and romantasy literary topoi but it is still a great book because it handles character conflict so well I felt glued to the pages.

The author understands that if conflict can be solved with a simple conversation, it is not real conflict if the stakes all-around are too high. The stakes in Asydiar as VERY high so we see the characters trying to keep everything under control having those uncomfortable conversations, facing the fact that they are all changing, until words are not enough anymore. Until the conflict cannot be solved with a simple conversation.

The writing is overall good and enjoyable and riveting, for the vast majority. I didn't always understand Salje's actions, or Aaron's for that matter, but they are consistent with the characters. Complex, round, struggling characters.

The ending felt feverish, I still haven't wrapped my head around it, but that only opens a chasm between what we expected and what happened. The signs were there, though (telling us that the author really did plant the seeds all along) I was just blind and didn't see the catastrophe coming.