Although based in a fairytale like world, this is a completely unique story in it's own right, with references to many fairy tales, poems and sometimes cheese, because why not. They're really fun to spot, especially the more obscure ones that only appear in illustrations.

I did think this suffered a little with the scale of the story and the pacing, it sometimes felt like three books crammed into one, and moments I felt should have taken up more space were often breathlessly told over just a few pages.

Now there's finally a sequel, I'm hoping we see some more world building, specifically the lore behind the Cloud Horses and the magical items, which I felt was left pretty vague. I'm interested to see if the next book is set around the same time, or many years later.