I *adored* this

pros:
- THE WRITING is beautiful - it reminded me of Laini Taylor a little in the richness of it (and I adore Laini Taylor), and also the book The Hazel wood, in the strangeness
- the characters all felt fully imagined and amazing - none of them are perfect but they're all sympathetic and real and I loveddd them :D
- the plot was so mysterious! I had no idea where it was going! a couple of times I thought i'd guessed things but then was totally wrong!
- the magic!! my favourite thing is folklorish weird, creative, original magical things and this was amazing! The fractal power is so unusual and awesome, as well as Malina's singing and the idea of 'gleams' itself, along with everything else! So wonderful!
- the sisterly relationship was awesome and centralised and I loved it! The family relationships in general were complex but well-handled!
- the romances were cute! toxic romances were called out and even with Luka - which could have been like "friend-zoned" and pressurized - was done well. it felt like Luka would have quietly remained Iris's friend even if she'd never been ready/wanted to go further with him. also demonstrating that the relationship with Fjolar was bad seemed well-handled
- the plot was complex but I felt it was clearly laid out and all ends were tied up...except for the cliffhanger at the end!!

cons:
- ehhh it did take me just a little while to get into, but that may have been my own state of mind
- I did think the sexual aspects could mayyybe have been handled slightly better? Just the minor link between Fjolar being a casual, sexual relationship and that turning out very bad put a link between promiscuity and "evil" that I wasn't too keen on - but I don't think this was major or intended. Also I felt the rush to have sex with Luka was a little fast? but maybe not

overall, I loved this book and think it would be excellent for a reread and I cannot wait for the next one!!!