It was a VERY slow start and I almost DNFed, but honestly I'm glad I didn't. This was my first Leigh Bardugo book and while I loved the writing style from the beginning, for some reason the story itself took about half the book for me to get invested. I do think part of it was having to shift my expectations. Like a lot of people, I was expecting this to be a vampire book, so when it turned out to be about essentially a magic/miracles tournament instead I was a little bit disappointed at first. HOWEVER, it did pull me in once the tournament started and everything started to come together. Part of me wished Bardugo had gotten to it sooner, but also I think that build up was necessary because I'm not entirely sure how much I would have enjoyed the romance otherwise. Which by the way, is a slow burn and not in the dragging out the pining kind of way, but rather in the kind of way that is so subtle that by the time they start acknowledging their feelings it almost catches you off guard while also making complete sense. Which, as someone who generally has to be Stockholm syndromed into enjoying straight romances in books, it worked out perfectly.

And in the end...I cried, so it won me over.

Even with the slow start, I'm glad I finished it and am ready to jump into another Leigh Bardugo book.