I really, really wanted to like this book, because medieval fantasy with excellent worldbuilding, an interest in nuance, and female main characters, is incredibly thin on the ground. Regrettably, the writing was just too clunky for me to get into. I don't mean that in the sense of prose, but in the sense of how mood and character was conveyed. The writing would tell me what to feel, rather than having the characters react to it. Despite the book being of a reasonable length to get lots of scenes of characterization, I was instead informed post-hoc what the characters were like. Genuinely disappointing for such a promising premise, with such an interesting focus. I desperately want more books that deal with the (well researched!) intricacies of medieval law, set on the backdrop of a fantasy version of the Carolingian Renaissance, dealing with the politics of warring Germanic city states. Incredibly promising! I may still read the sequel, just to find out if the writing has improved.