I had many high expectations for this book, and it exceeded all of them. I can't even fully put into words how much I loved this novel and it's messages. Dealing with topics such as religious nationalism, colonization, ethnic cleansing, racism, sexism, and moral ambiguity. M. L. Wang was perfectly able to write a story that could have spanned over three books into just one, without losing any depth or important worldbuilding aspects. I feel like there's not much I can write here without spoiling the book so I'll try to convey how I felt while reading it more. The journey of Sciona fighting the oppression of women while also realizing she herself is privileged was such a heartbreaking but also interesting journey. Her and her assistant, Thomil, have a unique and captivating relationship with each other. Thomil is a Kwen, who are the indigenous people of the land. So he has an inner conflict of loving Sciona while also not wanting to betray his own people. The discussion of colonization is very heavy in this book as it determines how it ends. With a big focus on how societies will steal cultures and land of indigenous people then demonize them even though they are using their practices. This book had so many points and lessons in it that I don't have the time to write all of my thoughts down into simply one review, but I must say that EVERYONE should read this book! It was absolutely incredible and had amazing political discussions while still remaining a great fantasy novel with beautiful worldbuilding and a magic system like no other. If you want a good fantasy novel with lots of politics and in depth conversations on how modern society twists how we view others, this book is for you!