You see, I’ve discovered that it’s all right to need help. So long as you’ve lived your life as the kind of person who deserves to be rescued.

This book turned out to be a perfect reminder of why I once fell in love with the fantasy genre. It has everything: the magic, the mystery, the adventure, the epic quest, the true love, and the good triumphing unequivocally over evil. Definitely a novel I'm going to re-read one day, probably once I eventually catch up with Brandon Sanderson's numerous Cosmere epics. Because I'm hopelessly behind and must have missed so many Easter eggs.

I fully expected the worldbuidling to be awe-inspiring and the plot to be clever, but what came as a super pleasant suprise was the prose. Sanderson's writing here is simply amazing: so whimsical and witty and wonderfully engrossing. I loved the narrator's voice, and I loved the moment the narrator actually walked into the plot. There was also something very special about how this narration delivered the twists and the big "whoa!" moments that I can't put a finger on yet. But I've written out enough quotes to pore over and eventually figure out how it works in terms of writing mechanics, so to speak.

More than anything, though, I loved Tress. She's now easily in my top-5 favorite characters of all time, thanks to her beautiful blend of kindness, ingenuity and common sense. She's the kind of character who makes me want to be a better person. Her arc throughout the story is awesome: so much subtle growth, and throughout all her trials she always retains her core values. She truly earned her happy ending. 

I could probably continue talking about this story for hours, but I would give away the entirety of the story in the process, so I'll better just stop here. Just... I really, really loved this, and I want more cozy, hope-filled fantasy stories just like this. ALL of them, please and thank you.