wow....... this was intense, soul-crushing and even nauseating at times. definitely not a book for the weak. the first and second halves of this book are completely different. the first one is rin's time at sinegard: it's fun and strangely comedic at times. the second half takes everything you thought you knew about this book and tells you to shove it- although i knew i was up for something heavy, i underestimated just how much it would be. taking into account the fact that i read the golyn niis chapter at night and then went to sleep, it's quite a surprise that i had no nightmares. this book does not delve into romance, but rin and nezha's relationship is refreshing. we love a good enemies (to lovers with a question mark) trope that doesn't have that absurdly abusive dynamic. rin never just takes any shit and that's what i love about her. i took half a star because although the lore is interesting, it was a bit hard to process at times - at first i had no idea what had actually gone down in nikan's history because it was a jumble of unknown names and events all at the same time. that, and the writing felt a bit juvenile, but this is me and my high standards - i was never the same after reading mistborn. overall a great book. very addicting and i would recommend it.