This was a prettyunique story about two women breaking free of the roles they’ve been assigned while searching for love, belonging, and the stories that make us who we are. I especially appreciated the found family at the heart of it all.

I found most of the characters very likeable and in many ways they felt like real people with their own histories they were grappling with. That being said, there were definitely times when I wished the unfolding of the history was done in a way that wasn’t just like…info dump, in a way. Woven more throughout. Taken more time with?

At its heart this story is about the detrimental impact of colonization and how it takes a person and their cultures history, languages, stories and leaves them a kind of emptiness and longing in its place. How do we fight for and hold on to the stories we’ve forgotten, and who will keep the new ones that rise in the wake of all that loss? I loved the ways in which racism, assimilation, and acculturation play their role on people looking to survive. And the importance of shared stories and impact. And in all of this was a story about a witch and a knight falling in love.

I did find that this story had some significant pacing issues for me at times. There was a solid 100 pages of this book that really had me having to lock in to get through the other side. I think another pass of editing in general would have helped tighten up this story and bring some clarity into places. I also have mixed feelings about the ending and weirdly felt most compelled and in love with Hari and Galath’s story. Like give me so much more of them immediately, please and thank you.

I think I understand some of the interesting aspects that popped up around time and technology and their role in all this but I also couldn’t quite put me finger on it.

Ultimately I really enjoyed this read that was pretty highly anticipated for me.

Phew…that was such a ride. I love Regency-era sapphic romance, especially when it’s wrapped up in so much pining and so much brooding.

This story is set in an alternate world where women possess real agency, and I loved it here. I’ve seen some criticisms about its historical accuracy since it’s set during a specific time period, but I can’t say it affected my reading experience at all. The political stakes and worldbuilding were so damn good!

The interactions between the characters, their motivations, the decadent writing, and the captivating plot had me completely locked in. The chemistry between the two main characters was absolutely perfect, and there were parts of this book that were straight-up hot. But it was so much more than that. I loved learning about each of these deeply flawed characters’ pasts and watching how those experiences shaped who they became. Seeing two people, each carrying the weight of their own history, slowly become a place where the other could be fully known was easily my favorite part of the book.

I’m truly a sucker for this type of story. I am the audience!

My only real complaint is that I felt we rushed through the ending a little too quickly. I wanted to spend more time with the fallout from the climax and see what it meant for these characters and for this alternate world. Seeing them navigate that would have been so good. It just wasn’t enough for me, and because of that, the ending fell a little short. It felt somewhat incomplete and not quite as satisfying as everything that came before it.

I genuinely love the Singing Hills Cycle so much. It's truly one of my favorite series. The adventures of Chih and Almost Brilliant usually have me locked all the way in.

All that being said...I didn't really love this installment, which surprised me. It was really cool to get a story from early on in Chih's journey, but it just didn't really feel like a whole lot happened. Phew...I hate to say it, but it was a little boring to me.

Which is frustrating because I actually think there were some really compelling ideas here. Themes around being a refugee, what it means to find a home, to survive, and to keep existing in a place that doesn't want you to. One of the ideas I found most compelling was how customs and traditions, however flawed, can become the very thing that keeps us rooted to the history of ourselves.

As usual, I loved the way Nghi Vo's writing explores these ideas, and there were more than a few lines that had me sitting back and thinking, damn. I just don't think we got enough time with these themes to really let them live, and because of that the ending felt rather abrupt.

I will read this series for as long as Vo keeps writing them, but, for me, this wasn't the strongest one by far.

There is so much I loved about this story.

First and foremost, I loved the representation of Caribbean and South American lives in this world of high society that is so often portrayed as entirely white. It truly gave me so much life to see parts of myself reflected here.

I loved the characters and their development, and the chemistry between the two mains was fantastic. Their banter was sweet and genuinely funny, but it was the ways they cared for one another that really sold me. Their affection felt authentic and lived-in, like reading about two people who could have existed beyond the page. The writing was lovely and gave meaningful glimpses into each character's history and the experiences that shaped the decisions they made, even when those decisions frustrated me.

I especially loved the themes around choosing belonging over respectability and building a life that reflects who you are rather than the one society has already chosen for you. That made the found family elements feel all the more meaningful and gave the romance an emotional depth that really resonated with me.

While I don't mind spicy scenes in a romance, it did feel like there were just a few too many for me. We get it, y'all really like banging each other, but I fear I was getting a little tired of reading "heat" and every other euphemism for...down there. The scenes themselves weren't bad or out of place; they just started to feel repetitive and made the middle drag a bit.

I had a few lingering questions by the end and there were some aspects I would have loved to see explored further, but those were relatively minor in the grand scheme of things.

Overall, this was a warm, funny, deeply heartfelt read that left me incredibly satisfied.