(I read this in January and only just now realized I never wrote a review, fucking Oop. So, forgive me if this isn’t as in-depth as it normally would be, I only remember main plot points and not too many specifics).

As a huge fan of Saara El-Arifi’s other trilogy - The Ending Fire - I absolutely had to grab her newest trilogy featuring elves and fae. While this book is a huge shift from her other work, I did notice a lot of similarities between the two with regards to worldbuilding and character interactions, so if you enjoy her other series I really think you’d like this one as well. (And vice versa, I’m super excited for The Ending Fire!)

I know this is marketed as having more romance than The Ending Fire trilogy, but (maybe it’s just me) the amount of romance between both felt around the same to me. We have a bit of enemies to lovers (or, more accurately, irritated to lovers), but while their romance is a main plot of the novel (and another romance with the sister), I never felt it overshadowed the main overarching plot.

I will personally admit to not being the biggest fan of talking animal companions, and while they’re still not my favorite here, the obeah are enjoyable and I didn’t hate their inclusion. They very strongly reminded me of a similar type of creature in The Priory of the Orange Tree and I liked them about the same. A well-done talking animal companion is really hard to do, but an annoying one that I hate is easy. This, thankfully, doesn’t fall into the latter but it never quite reaches the former. (When we got to the obeah I audibly went “oh no” as I was afraid they would be like the talking animal companion in another trilogy that I absolutely hated, but luckily they are not). Sorry, I know this is a lot about this one specific topic, but in all honesty there are very few books where I like this trope and many MANY ones that are ruined because of it, so any time one is involved I’m wary about it.

I also absolutely loved the magic system, and how the magic and weapons that are used by the elves are unknowingly in DIRECT harm and contrast to the fae. I thought it was fascinating how the fae have been hidden and trapped for so long that everyone thinks that they are extinct, when something that is regularly used by the elves is actually something related to the fae. I really thought that was cleverly done in interlacing the two peoples, despite one believing the other to no longer exist.

I admit to having figured out the “twist” to this book as I was reading it, but I don’t necessarily believe that takes away from any enjoyment. If you like elves/fae, complicated romances with conflict, politics, and a worldbuilding that slowly opens up more and more as you read, I think you’d enjoy this novel.

A huge thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.