“You are a Calamity—” “Thank you.” “—but we’ve got more important things to discuss.” “More important than me?”

This was even better the second time around. My main issues the first time largely had to do with being both underwhelmed and confused by a lot of the worldbuilding, and then being stressed out because I cared far too much and had no spoilers for how it would go. This time, I went in knowing that it's a fairly low-stress plotline and that the world is essentially our own if we'd diverged at some point a thousand years ago due to things like leylines being real. Nothing complicated.

Osric did not want Fairhrim to be beautiful. He was susceptible to beauty. He was an appreciator of beautiful things. He wanted to acquire them. He wanted them to be his. Now, as Fairhrim neared, he fought a momentary panic that his beauty-loving heart would want Fairhrim in any way, that her loveliness tonight would trigger some latent kleptomaniac urge.

Expect a true slowburn. You'll get lingering looks, brushes of arms, overly intimate eye contact, and ONE (1) kiss between the leads, but two very excellent solo wank scenes. It makes me look forward to the next book for sure, but if you're expecting heat, the closest you're going to get will be the sick burns these two make against each other continually.

More whinging than Aurienne has expected from a Fyren. Weren’t they supposed to be rugged killers? This specimen had the fortitude of wet quiche.

I loved the author's chosen narrative style. It's definitely intimate third POV for the most part, so you'll only ever know what each character knows as what's happening unfolds, which will impact what you can know about the world. The voices are distinct between the two characters, so if Aurienne's (frankly impressive) vocabulary is off-putting, Osric's POVs are more accessible. The word choice directly lends itself to creating characterization.

"There's fuckery underway," said Mordaunt. "Have you got the time? I hadn't the room for a watch in this stupid armour; it hasn't any pockets." "Should've put it in your codpiece," said Aurienne, consulting her pocket watch. "My codpiece is already full." "Of what?" "My cod." Aurienne cast a cynical eye towards the codpiece. "Had to coil it up," said Mordaunt.

That said, if you're a fan of very dry, tongue-in-cheek humor and bawdy jokes with a medical practitioner twist, you're in for a treat. I usually find poop and dick jokes distasteful, but something in the way they're handled here had me in stitches. There's tons of dialogue, which I am absolutely here for. Makes it that much easier to inhale.

"Right," said Xanthe. "And the Wardens would only be a deofol away, should Wellesley be stupid enough." "Right." "Right." Aurienne eyed Xanthe. Xanthe eyes Aurienne. "Good thing about my blimp-sized bollocks," said Aurienne. "May they carry you swiftly, and may the winds be fair," said Xanthe.

The secondary characters were a delight. So many fun people from jaded 200 year old mentors, to overenthusiastic admin assistants, to protective ladies of the night--I was delighted by all of them. They really helped add so much to the vibe of everything and many are so endearing or funny. Mrs Parsons, Xanthe, and Tristane were among my favorites.

What was between them? An ebb and a flow, curiosity and guilt, today’s fatal daydream and tomorrow’s scars.

The leads themselves are wonderful. Equal parts strong willed and flawed, they both have excellent backstories that help illuminate their behavior rather than ever excuse it. Aurienne is surprisingly avoidant, while Mordaunt is surprisingly anxious, which I loved as a dynamic. They're true enemies from the jump and have ever reason to be annoyed with each other, and their adventures through this first book absolutely make it believable that they'd soften for each other by the end. Also, they're both bisexual icons, and we love to see it.

It hadn't been love at first sight, but at last sight -- gods, at last sight-- Far above, the moon hung like a promise.

I'd recommend this book to anyone wanting a smart but still vibes-reliant romantasy novel with a true enemies to lovers arc and has the patience to allow things to unfold at their own pace. You really have to surrender to the author's intent and trust they know what they're doing while keeping in mind that it doesn't take itself seriously. It's a very specific narrative style that's reminiscent of folks like Prachett, Wodehouse, Austen, and Wilde in that's it's very strong/distinct and unendingly dry. If this all sounds good to you, then you're in for a treat!