wowowow i really was not expecting to love this as much as i did. let me tell you, coming off the assistant to the villian series, i had LOW expectations when it came to "cosy fantasy" but holy moly did this book blow my expectations up. i have gone on about the prose to any of my friends who'll listen but it genuinely will live rent free in my mind for years to come. i love the way heather fawcett will set a scene in a such a way that you wouldn't think to do--by pulling out obscure and fun words that invoke such a vivid and vibrant image in your mind whilst reading. this is exactly the book i've been craving and i absolutely cannot wait to see where this series goes next.

onto some rapid fire spoiler discussions:

my only complaint about the romance is that i wish he hadn't confessed his feelings in the first book, i kinda of wish there was a longer period of obvious-to-the-reader-but-not-to-emily-pining but alas, "i proposed first" and those hijinks did get a giggle out of me, so i'll excuse it. i did really enjoy how his obvious attraction was written, because sometimes i find authors aren't able to nail the subtlety but that wasn't the case here (thank god). another similar thing is i wished the mystery of whether he was fae or not was kept up a little longer--i almost wish for a short story/prequel of emily conducting an investigation on wendell back at the university. i also totally see the howl comparisons people are making to bambleby.

i like the way the lesbian couple was handled. their queerness wasn't made a spectacle, it was just a fact that we didn't have to linger on. their relationship played a part in the story and they didn't feel like performative representation. i love the wood-cutting lesson scene, and how they adapted to emily's personality.

i found the whole situation with the winter far king absolutely hilarious and i hope he comes back into the story.

i'm genuinely clueless on where we could possibly go next, but im keen to start the next book ASAP.