excellent magical book, reminded me of Dr.N and Mr.S

pros:
- great diverse characters, with the racism of the times addressed, but with an ultimately hopeful perspective
- very gripping and well-written, with excellent plotting, world-building and well-developed characters, and dry humour that made me chuckle
- I liked Mak Genggang very much, reminded me of Baba Yaga-type force of nature.

cons:
- plot did seem to lose a little steam in the middle, and I lost track of some of the stakes when the book focused more on Prunella and forgot Zacharias's problems for a while (but everything got resolved in the end I think)
- Prunella annoyed me a little (but was a good character overall)
- side characters could've been developed more, they felt a little flat sometimes
- also Zacharias's conflicted feelings on Sir Stephen were interesting and could've gone into more detail

nevertheless, it was gripping and highly enjoyable, would read more by Cho.