Do you like slow-paced court intrigue and political backstabbing? An arranged marriage of two estranged men, both of whom would rather flay themselves alive than talk about their feelings? And they’re both assholes? Then this is the book for you.

Vol. 1 of this duology starts off slow and plodding. It took me a while to get all of the factions and characters to stick in my head. Think of Game of Thrones but with less hand-holding. It’s still a good time, and I like how morally dubious the two leads are. Like they’re just wretched guys, but they have to be to have ascended so far up the ladder. Looking forward to the second part. Think of this rating as a rounded-up 3.5. The prose got a little too vague in some parts.