3, 3.5 stars? This was fine, serviceable. Not something I loved or hated. I think if it were a movie I might continue on to the next in the series, but as a book I’m not especially interested in continuing.

What I liked:
1) The setting, the world, or what I got of it. I liked the setup of the clans, the Teek, the cultists.
2) Opening chapter. Loved it! Such a strong dramatic, engaging moment.
3) The political intrigue. Again - what I got of it, I enjoyed. Naranpa’s situation is the kind of fantasy drama I eat up.
4) Some of the climax with Serapio. I felt like I could visualize that battle, and it was a wild time.

What I didn’t like, much of which I recognize are preferences and subjective, not flaws of the book:
1) Character work. I found it lacking. The four POVs were distinct enough, which I appreciated, but I didn’t find any POV enough for me. The characters didn’t really have arcs, at least not in this book. They did have a lot of potential, but it was not explored enough. For example, I wanted more of Naranpa and Denaochi as kids in order for their reunion as adults to hit hard. Much of the state of the relationships here are told to you rather than shown, which frustrated me.
2) World building. As someone who doesn’t love lots of description, it makes me laugh that I wanted more. This didn’t feel as lush and full as I wanted it to feel. I had questions about what people and places looked like, what the cultural rules were.
3) The romance. I’m sorry, chemistry where? It felt obligatory. This was another example of being told some relationship dynamic existed rather than shown.

Glad to have read it, it was a breeze to read despite its 400+ pages!