I LOVED the world in this book. It is bursting with interesting ideas, from people who make pacts with eldritch demons to commune with the dead to a race of gods that have been effectively wiped out by those very same demons. At the foundation of it all are people just trying to survive, at the mercy of these higher beings. Reading the blurb about two people being forcefully connected, you might expect a lighthearted oddball style romance. This book is decidedly not that. It has an episodic feel to it, with a series of adventures and interruptions along the journey to tear these two characters "asunder", with each of these vignettes tinged with horror, the arcane, and occult mysteries. Honestly, there is some phenomenal horror imagery in this book.  I honestly was not even expecting the horror elements, so that was a welcome surprise. While I really enjoyed the world, I did think it took a while for me to get my footing because the reader is just thrust right into the middle of events, and it takes a bit to connect the dots with the higher beings, how they relate to the nations and factions and characters, as well as the lore and history that resulted in the current setting. A good chunk of the first quarter of the book is trying to lay these foundations, so I struggled slightly with the opening. However, once the journey was underway, I was hooked. 

The episodic adventures might be hit or miss with people because they vary a bunch. The setting changes, the antagonist changes, and they may feel like a distraction. The book would constantly throw new ideas and elements out there, all feeling unique and interesting. I personally enjoyed them, and I think they do a great job of giving characters room to breathe and be exposed. I like how Karys Eska's character is shown through so many different lenses. The book also has a slew of other characters that get roped into the journey, and even some side characters get a surprising amount of nuance. The other main character is Ferain, and I have slightly more mixed feelings about him. I do think the setup of him being attached to Karys' shadow lends itself to interesting dynamics and mechanics. However, I was left a bit wanting in terms of his backstory and overall arc. I think there was some really interesting concepts that could have been explored more before the book discarded them. I also feel like his interactions with Karys could have been developed a bit more. I think this is kind of true of all the characters to a degree. They are fascinating and have depth, but the relationships with each other aren't explored enough to really highlight their different worldviews or how they complement each other. To be clear, this is something the book does do, I just wish it did it more because it really had a compelling test tube of characters thrown together. 

Overall, I think this book breaks my streak of mediocre books. Outside of a few nitpicks, my criticisms boil down to me just wanting more, and that's the highest compliment I can give it. Luckily, it does seem to be setting up a sequel which the author has confirmed is currently being worked upon!