This was a very easy, fast read. I promise I mean this as a compliment, but it read like au fanfiction-it never lingered anywhere too long, had simple but engaging prose, and it was very satisfying. The author clearly knew her audience and what they wanted, and made sure to give them what they came for.

However, I will say this fanfiction-like quality did leave some things lacking. For example, outside of our heroine, I felt that the other characters weren't well defined. In fanfiction, you already know the characters, and authors often rely on that, meaning they don't spend much time showing you who the characters are or establishing their dynamics. This felt very similar-the characters felt like they just fell into dynamics with each other without any build-up, and the heroine would often have intense feelings of love or hatred towards someone when the book hadn’t really earned it. The characters in the book are pretty easy to understand, so it wasn't distracting, but it did feel somewhat underwhelming. I especially found this true of the male lead and the villainess- both characters clearly had depth and intrigue but the setup was lacking.

Finally, I will give my compliments to the world-building. It wasn’t anything too crazy or different, but the world felt thought-through amd grounded. The author was also very good at integrating details into the story without long exposition dumps. It was very natural and, by the end, left me with a good understanding of the politics and magic system.

This book was marketed as a slow-burn romance, but for my taste, it's not that slow.

The two protagonists are firmly in love by the end of the book, just not together because of the male lead's curse. If he wasn't cursed, they would have already be together and likely would have already slept together.

If you, like me, like romances that build very slowly, possibly even over several books, this might be a bit disappointing. I know their bond will deepen in the rest of the series, but to me the characters seemed too attached too quickly, especially since the protagonist had issues with trust.

This was a solid book that I was able to read very quickly. If you like romantic fanfiction I can 100% recommend this, and even for a fantady-lover who wants a quick, easy read with a stress on romance, this is a good time. If you're looking for quick spice, this isn't it. And if you're looking for characters slowly developing feelings of trust and companionship before finally realizing they also have romantic feelings, this isn't it. It's a book where characters het over distrust perhaps a bit too quickly and, if there weren't firm obstacles in the way, would have gotten together. It just so happened that said obstacles are fantastical.