I so wanted to love this one, but I saw the twist coming from a mile away and it really dampened my enjoyment of the book. It was my very first YA mystery, and I think I should have read it when I was younger.

Gentlefolk, T. Kingfisher does it again, and I for one am delighted.

I fell in love with the World of the White Rat while reading the first entry to the Saint of Steel series. Swordheart happens before the events of that series, but after Clockwork Boys, which is very high on my TBR. I love that the publisher is releasing all these in stunning paperbacks, a format that has my favour when it comes to reading from a physical copy.

To me, the strongest element of this story was indubitably its characters. Both Halla and Sarkis have very strong narrative voices their POV chapters. They're flawed but lovable, each in their own, distinct way. Halla makes for the perfect immersive main character, in my opinion, in that she isn't special like most heroes are. She's a woman you could meet at the market who somehow gets into a strange situation, and she keeps her identity throughout the book. It's easy to imagine yourself in her shoes.

As for Sarkis, I loved seeing him soften throughout the story, and open up to his surroundings. His devotion and single-minded focus made him an endearing and easy to follow character. I had no issue believing his feelings and inner turmoil. He makes for a very healthy and wholesome love interest, which always has my preference.

Zane and Brindle, the main supporting cast, were also amazing additions to the story. I want to see even more of them in the World of the White Rat. I also hope we see more of the Dreaming God.

The world is, as always, incredibly vivid and alive. As I read, I felt like I was there, like I could reach out and step into the world. This is something that T. Kingfisher does very well, so I didn't expect anything less. She also has this way of depicting the world through the POV character's perspective that makes it so they notice things that the others would not, or not in that order. There's a lot I could learn from her in my own writing practice.